As of December 26, 2023, the market capitalization stands at $48.4 trillion, marking a year-over-year increase of 23.8%, which translates to $9.3 trillion. This figure encompasses the entire broad market, specifically all U.S.-jurisdictional public companies that were actively trading on December 26, totaling nearly 4,100 companies.
Year-to-Date (YTD) Capitalization Gains
YTD capitalization gains for the top 10 companies totaled $5.79 trillion, the top 20 companies totaled $6.75 trillion, the top 50 companies totaled $7.97 trillion, and the top 100 companies totaled $8.87 trillion, while only the 140 best-performing companies accounted for the entire market gain, according to our calculations.
Sector Performance in 2023
Despite this being one of the most remarkable years in U.S. market history, not all sectors have performed positively since the start of the year. The utilities sector, in particular, has experienced the most significant decline, with a decrease of -10.2%. This outcome is not surprising.
Consumer staples durables are down 6.7%, health care (-1.1%) and oil and gas (-2.9%). The sectors in the negative form 11 trillion in capitalization or 22.8% of the total market, and at the beginning of 2023 formed 29.2% of the market. In aggregate, weak sectors have lost 3.5% of capitalization since the beginning of the year.
Relative to the crazy rally since October 27, the market has grown by 17.1%, or $7.1 trillion (over two months). All sectors are up (details in the table), but the growth is uneven. The technology sector and financial companies contributed 54% to the combined growth since October 27, or $3.83 trillion.
The main difference between November - December 2023 and January - October 2023 is the broader diversification of growth. Whereas growth at the beginning of the year was centered on technology companies, now the entire market is growing.
Conclusion
Thus, as of December 26, 2023, the market capitalization of the U.S. market has grown to $48.4 trillion for the year, primarily driven by the 140 largest companies. While some sectors were down at the beginning of the year, the market has recently exhibited a more balanced and broad-based growth pattern. Notably, technology and financial companies have played a significant role in this recent growth, suggesting that 2023 will be a dynamic year for the U.S. market.