The best and worst-performing stocks of 2018
Merck leads Dow industrials gainers; AMD tops S&P 500
One very important theme for investors during 2018 has been the return to volatility, as investors worry about Federal Reserve tightening and President Trump’s trade dispute with China.
The market always looks ahead, and another important focus for investors is the massive cut in the maximum federal income-tax rate for corporations that was passed in December 2017 that has boosted corporate earnings tremendously this year. Investors won’t enjoy similar year-over-year comparisons when first-quarter 2019 results are reported.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 6.7% this year through Friday, but it is down 14.4% from the intraday high it hit on Oct. 3. Illustrating the volatility, the best performer of the year among the S&P 500 has been Advanced Micro Devices, which is up 73% for the year, but which has also fallen 42% during the fourth quarter.
This has been the worst year for the Dow since 2008, and the first decline for the benchmark index since 2015, when it was down 2.2%.
Before listing this year’s stock-price winners and losers, here are price changes for the major indexes and the S&P 500 sectors:
These figures don’t include dividends.
The only two S&P 500 sectors that are up for the year through Friday are health care and utilities. The utilities sector has been the least volatile when compared to its 52-week high. The energy sector has fared worst, which is also probably no surprise, as the oil-price recovery stalled. West Texas Crude oil was down 25% for the year, also through Friday.
Winners and losers
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Here are 2018 price changes for all 30 Dow stocks, sorted from best to worst. Just 12 of its components are up for the year:
S&P 500
Here are the 10 S&P 500 stocks that have risen the most during 2018:
But 340 components — 68% of the index — declined during 2018. Here are the 10 that have fallen the most:
S&P 400 Mid Cap
Among the three main S&P indexes, the S&P 400 Mid Cap Index MID, -0.38% has been the worst performer of 2018, with a 13.4% decline.
Here are this year’s 10 best performers among the S&P 400:
Here are the 10 worst performers:
S&P 600 Small Cap
The S&P 600 Small Cap Index has fallen 10.3% this year.
Here are the 10 biggest winners among the index components:
And the 10 biggest losers:
Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.05% has declined 4.6% this year.
Narrowing things down, here are this year’s best performers among the Nasdaq 100:
And the worst 10 of 2018 among the Nasdaq 100: