The stock market’s biggest winners and losers for the first half of 2023
Friday’s session marked the end of the first half of 2023 – and the six-month stretch was one for the history books.
Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed early in the year, sending a jolt of fear into investors, but attention quickly shifted to tech stocks amid excitement over artificial intelligence. All this came amid rising tensions between the US and China, Russia battling Ukraine and the Federal Reserve battling inflation by raising interest rates – raising fears of a potential recession.
“Investors have had a lot to contend with so far in 2023. Moderating economic growth, persistent inflation, volatile interest rates, falling profits, stress in the banking sector, war in Ukraine and the debt ceiling debate all weighed on sentiment,”[ads1]; said John Lynch, chief investment officer of Comerica Wealth Management. “Nonetheless, large-cap stocks and megacap tech names have jumped higher, providing a measure of relief for investors.”
Not all stocks have done equally well. Here’s a look at the best and worst stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average
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S&P 500
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and the Nasdaq 100 after the last trading session for the first half of 2023.
Best performers
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 share the same top-performing stock: Nvidia
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The chip maker (ticker: NVDA ) is up 189% this year to $423.02, which was the stock’s best first half ever, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
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Most of the gain comes from the excitement surrounding the future of AI. Nvidia’s chips are used to power the computers used for generative AI.
“NVDA in prime position to transform $1 trillion non-accelerated data center market with its full-stack artificial intelligence platform,” BofA Securities analyst Vivek Arya wrote in a June research note. He rates the stock a buy with a price target of $500.
The average 12-month price target among 49 analysts followed by FactSet is $457.56.
Salesforce
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( CRM ) was the best-performing stock in the Dow for the first half, with the stock jumping 59% to $211.26. The cloud-based software provider, another company riding the AI wave, also had its best first half ever.
In March, Salesforce unveiled Einstein GPT to provide generative AI tools across its software business. In June, it announced AI Cloud, customer relationship management software that combines AI with data from multiple sources “to provide reliable, open, real-time generative AI that is enterprise-ready.”
“We estimate that the AI monetization opportunity will reach $800 billion over the next decade with the Game of Thrones battle taking place across the technology landscape and CRM’s key moves to incorporate generative AI solutions for improved cross-platform efficiency , puts the company in an enviable position to capitalize on the AI gold rush,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a June 13 research note.
Worst performers
Walgreens Boots Alliance
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( WBA ), which has fallen 24% to $28.49 this year, has fallen the most among the Dow stocks. The stock has fallen around 9% this week alone.
This week the pharmacy chain cut its earnings outlook for the year, saying profits in the latest quarter were hit by lower volumes of Covid-19 tests and vaccinations. Walgreens also warned that shoppers have become “more cautious” and want to spend more on value products.
Advance Auto Parts ( AAP ), another consumer-focused company, was the weakest stock in the first half of 2023 for the S&P 500. Shares of the auto parts retailer have fallen 52% this year to $70.30 each.
In May, the company reported first-quarter earnings of 72 cents a share, less than a third of the Wall Street consensus forecast of $2.56. Advance Auto Parts’ earnings forecast for the full year was disappointing and management cut its dividend.
“We expect the competitive dynamics we encountered in the first quarter to continue, resulting in a shortfall of our expectations for 2023,” CEO Tom Greco said in the company’s earnings release.
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JD.com ( JD ) led the losers in the Nasdaq 100. U.S. depositary receipts of the Chinese e-commerce company have fallen 39% in 2023, making it the stock’s worst first half on record.
JD.com reported an earnings beat for the first quarter in May. However, the stock has fallen, and traders have worried about a new wave of Covid-19 cases in China. These cases came after the country implemented strict lockdowns that affected both China’s and the global economy.
Investors were also worried about the future of Chinese stocks on Friday, after new data showed China’s economy is struggling.
Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com