The S&P 500 may have slipped in April. But nimble investors still found spots to make money.
If you invested $10,000 in January in the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 at the time and reinvested that in each month's top performer, including Newmont (NEM) in April, you'd have $26,406 now, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSurge.
That's an impressive four-month gain of 166%. It's quite a feat given the S&P 500 itself is up a solid 7.2% so far this year. The same $10,000 invested in the S&P 500 would be worth just $10,720 now. That's a gain of just $720. The S&P 500 slipped 2.7% in April, snapping its three-straight-month rise from January to March.
Will The S&P Keep Rolling In May 2024?
Hindsight is 20-20. And, clearly, few if any investors could have picked the top stock in each of the past four months, as it's not a repeatable strategy. But the staggering numbers this year remind investors amazing gains can be scooped up by diligent investors even when the S&P 500 starts to fade.
In fact, even in a month the index fell, the S&P offered many ways to make money. And more than 25% of the stocks in the S&P 500 rose during April. And of those, 10 stocks jumped more than 10% in just one month.
Top S&P 500 Stock Of April: Newmont
The S&P 500 itself wasn't impressive in April. But stronger-than-expected energy prices and first-quarter profit opened up opportunities.
However, 49% better-than-expected business results from Newmont announced in April gave investors confidence about future growth. Investors are hopeful strong energy prices will trickle down to the bottom line.
Now analysts think the company's profit will rise more than 43% this year.
The rest of the top 10 S&P 500 stocks in the fourth month of the year were a motley crew. A total of three industrial stocks finished in the top, including recent GE spinoff GE Vernova, up 16%. And toymaker Hasbro was second-best stock with a more than 13% monthly gain in February, also thanks to better-than-expected first-quarter results.
What's Coming Next For The S&P 500?
The big question, though, is: Will the S&P 500's winning streak resume in May 2024? Historically, investors famously like to sell in May and go away until November.
May is usually pretty lousy for stocks. It's the fourth-worst month for the S&P 500 going back to 1950, says the "Stock Trader's Almanac." The S&P 500 falls 0.1% in May on average. And it fell nearly 46% of the time. Keep in mind, though, May is somewhat unpredictable. It was actually the best month from 1985 to 1997. But it was a "disaster" from 1965 to 1984, says "Stock Trader's Almanac."
Perhaps S&P 500 investors will stick around this May?
How To Turn $10,000 Into $26,406 In 4 Months
| Month | Top S&P 500 stock | Symbol | Monthly gain | Sector | S&P 500 monthly ch. | Starting balance | Cumulative value of $10,000 investment in January reinvested in best stock each month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Nvidia | 24.2% | Information Technology | 1.6% | $10,000 | $12,420 | |
| February | Constellation Energy | 38.6% | Utilities | 5.2% | $12,420 | $17,214 | |
| March | Micron Technology | 30.1% | Information Technology | 3.1% | $17,214 | $22,397 | |
| April | Newmont | 17.9% | Materials | -2.7% | $22,397 | $26,406 |
