The start of a new year is the perfect time for a stock market recap. As 2023 came to a close the U.S. stock market has finally ended on a high note. In the beginning of the year, many market analysts and stock-pickers were worried about the way in which the macroeconomic environment would impact not only the general business environment but also the performance of stocks as a whole. Fortunately, since then, inflation has fallen down precipitously and the global economy appears to be avoiding a calamitous recession, both clear wins for the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Currently, the Nasdaq has risen 43.6% from a year-to-date perspective, and the S&P500 has appreciated 24.2%. Below is a stock market recap on certain stocks and sectors that drove the market this year.
AI Chip Stocks: AMD (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA)
Of course, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has been one of the best-performing stocks of 2023, with its staggering gain of more than 239.0% year to date. The chipmaker’s shares catapulted earlier in the year after OpenAI released its now famous ChatGPT conversational AI. Since then, Nvidia has been riding high on the booming demand for its artificial intelligence solutions, which continue to power some of the most advanced applications in the world.
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) is already getting ready to release its MI300x GPU chipset, which was announced in the second quarter of 2023. The company expects to sell $2 billion in AI chips in 2024, potentially breaking up Nvidia’s monopolistic stranglehold on the AI chip market. AMD shares have more than doubled in value since the start of the year. All in all, next year could exciting year for both stocks.
IonQ (IONQ)
IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) is the first pure-play quantum computing firm, and the company uses trapped ion technology to build its quantum computers. While the quantum computing firm is still technically pre-revenue, the company has worked hard to market its quantum computing services. For example, IonQ has been able to partner with Amazon Web Services and other cloud providers to offer its quantum computing services on public cloud networks. Similarly, IonQ released two quantum computing solutions in October, IonQ Forte Enterprise and IonQ Tempo. These solutions are tailored for both businesses and governments to integrate quantum capabilities within their existing infrastructure.
The hype around artificial intelligence has certainly spilled over into companies operating in the quantum computing space, as there is a lot of intersection in terms of applications. As a result, IonQ shares have risen 259% YTD, clearly ending the year as a top performer.
US-listed Brazilian Companies
Perhaps unbeknownst to many, there are a number of US-listed companies with headquarters in Brazil that have had a terrific year. When doing a stock market recap for 2023, the first that immediately comes to mind is Petrobras (NYSE:PBR), the state-run oil and gas behemoth. The stock has risen 87.5% year-to-date due to elevated energy prices and less than expected market interference from current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government. As war rages on in the Middle East and OPEC production cuts remain in place, oil prices could remain elevated in the near term, and Brazilian oil companies could continue to pick up the tab on providing oil to the rest of the world.
The Warren Buffet-backed Nubank (NYSE:NU) has also had an outstanding 2023, not only in terms of share price appreciation but also strong YOY revenue and customer growth. In particular, revenue growth in Q3 2023 came in at around 53% YOY. Despite higher interest rates, which could have negatively affected the demand for credit cards and personal loans, Nubank’s credit card and personal loan portfolios have instead expanded to $15.1 billion, up 48% YOY, while deposits totaled to $19.1 billion.
Shares in Embraer (NYSE:ERJ), the commercial and defense aircraft designer and manufacturer, have risen 68.2%. The release of its new passenger jet, the E195-E2, and the subsequent $1.2 billion sell of which to Porter Airlines has helped the aircraft company build backlog and gain traction in the space.
On the date of publication, Tyrik Torres did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
