4 Financial Market Predictions for 2024

investing.com:

Despite the bullish year, 72% of S&P 500 stocks performed worse than the index in 2023.

Noteworthy annual performances include Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF), boasting 285% growth, its best since going public in 1996, surpassing even Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) impressive +239% gain.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has seen a +50% increase, solidifying its position as the world's largest company.

Meanwhile, the 60/40 portfolio (60% stocks, 40% bonds) achieved a performance unseen since 1996 in November and December.

Japanese stocks experienced their most significant annual gains in a decade, with the TOPIX index rising +25% and the Nikkei index +28%, marking their best performance since 2013.

The Magnificent Seven, the seven largest U.S. tech stocks, contributed to 64% of the S&P 500's rally this year.

They are anticipated to post a remarkable 22% earnings growth next year, double the S&P 500's advance.

Notable performances include Nvidia (+239%), Meta (NASDAQ:META) (+194%), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) (+102%), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) (+81%), Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (+58%), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) (+58%), and Apple (+49%).

Meanwhile, considering the rest of the market, the best-performing stocks for the year were:

Considering markets elsewhere in the world, here are the annual performances in no particular order:

Cocoa futures posted the most substantial annual gain in over three decades (+61% in 2023), driven by crop challenges in West Africa, the world's largest producing region.

The Turkish lira hit a record low (USD/TRY) after a 49% increase in the minimum wage by the government, raising inflation and resulting in a -58.5% depreciation against the dollar this year, making it the second worst-performing emerging market currency.

The US