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Bitcoin vs. SPIA vs. Gold: If You Invested $1,000 In Each Of These Assets Last Memorial Day, Here’s How Much You’d Have Now – SPDR S&P 500 (ARCA:SPY)
Financial markets, which ended 2023 mostly higher, saw an acceleration of momentum late in the year and the strength continued into the new year. With the stock market trading at record levels, here’s a look at how the returns compare to other top-tier assets.
Rate cut hopes, slowing gains from inflationary push: After inflation and subsequent rate hikes spooked investors in 2022, they returned with a vengeance the following year. The return of risk appetite was orchestrated by consumer price inflation, which fell from a cyclical high of 9.1% in August 2022. Corporate earnings growth also remained resilient as companies resorted to measures to prevent their profits and profits from collapsing.
In addition to this, the economy has witnessed robust job gains despite the surrounding economic uncertainties.
The year-end gains in 2023 came on the heels of hopes that the Fed may have to reverse its rate hikes as the central bank has remained in pause mode since July 2023, when it raised the Fed funds rate to a high of 22 years of 5.25. %-5.5%.
Another factor contributing to the market rally was the artificial intelligence frenzy, which favored companies exposed to the technology. Mega-caps included Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGLE) (NASDAQ:GOOG) AND Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALF) are at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution. It’s quite logical that when these stocks move they have the potential to drag the market with them, given their heavy weighting in major indexes.
See also: The best high-yield investments for earning money
Gold glitters: An anomalous asset that participated in the market rally was gold. Gold is invariably referred to as a safe haven asset which typically does not perform well when risk appetite is high.
The logic behind gold’s rally is dollar weakness. As the market began to price in the rate cuts, the dollar began to weaken and this turned out to be positive for the yellow metal, which is denominated in dollars. Gold futures reached an intraday high of $2,454.20 on May 20 and a closing high of $2,438.50 in the same session. He has since retired.
Bitcoin on a prolonged run: After closing 2023 as one of the best performing assets, thanks to gains in excess of 155%, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: Bitcoin) continued its stellar run into the new year. The upside catalyst was the SEC approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
The King cryptocurrency hit a record intraday high of $73,750.07 on March 14 and a record closing high ($73,083.50) one session earlier. Since then, the cryptocurrency has seen some volatility and is trading just above $70,000.
Returns from SPY, Gold Bitcoin: Assuming an investor invests $1,000 each SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust Fund (NYSE:TO SPY), an ETF that tracks the performance of the S&P 500 Index – a broader market indicator, gold and Bitcoin in the final session before Memorial Day 2023 (May 26), here’s how much it would have now.
| Number of units with $1,000 investment | Current value of the investment | Return | |
| TO SPY | 2.42 | 1,278.77 | 28% |
| Gold futures | 0.51 | $1,200.46 | 20% |
| Bitcoin | 0.036 | $2,519.60 | 152% |
According to data, the SPY closed Friday’s session up 0.66% at $529.44 Benzinga Pro data.
Photo via Shutterstock.
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