Two Market Visuals I Found Interesting

As the 2020 crazies continue, I just found these two market visuals interesting and wanted to share them with you (courtesy of The Visual Capitalist). They are not entirely “YTD” but close enough.

The first one displays the top performing market sectors of the S&P 500. I think it’s a great visual representation of the “haves” and “have-nots” in this pandemic environment. Some sectors and companies are thriving (information technology) and some have gotten hammered (energy).

As of June 11, the S&P 500 Tech sector had returned 13.5% while energy dropped by -29.5%. A tale of two industries. But make no mistake, that trend will reverse at some point. It always does. The reversal usually happens just around the time the media pronounces an industry “dead.” 

This second one breaks down a pyramid of equity returns going back 200 years. It helps to put things into historical perspective. After the fastest bear market drop in history, stocks have managed to claw back most of the losses.

Obviously 2020 is not over, and anything could happen before year-end, but YTD returns would certainly fall within the “normal” range of the bell curve. Now I know, I know, this year has been anything but normal. COVID-19 and civil unrest have made 2020 a year to remember. And one most of us just want to end.

Source: VisualCapitalist