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The year 2023 has been particularly challenging for financial markets. Increased geopolitical uncertainties and inflation struggles in many countries, including developed ones, have been the defining factors of the year. So how did the world’s largest stock index, the notable performance of gold, and the favorite of investors, Bitcoin, fare during 2023?
S&P 500 Index Failed to Break the Record
The Standard and Poor’s 500, a US stock index, tracks the performance of the largest 500 companies traded in US stock markets. This index is considered by experts as an axis that reflects the financial health of the country in terms of large companies.
Starting the year just above 3,820 points, the S&P 500 quickly rose to 4,200 in March, before returning to the starting level, and managed to reach 4,600 by the end of July. After another pullback, the S&P 500 finished the year strongly, closing the last trading day of 2023 on December 29 at 4,769, near the all-time high level.
The S&P 500 completed the year 2023 with an approximate 25% significant increase. Although this looks quite impressive, it is worth reminding that most of the gains came from a few technology-related companies like Nvidia, which experienced a 245% rise.
Safe Haven Gold Did Not Disappoint Investors
Gold is considered the most important safe haven asset that tends to perform better than risky investments during turbulent times in the world agenda. The past few years indeed fall into this category, affecting gold’s performance and leading to unusual volatility.
An ounce of gold was trading at $1,813 in the financial markets at the beginning of 2023. Like most assets, bullion gold had a strong spring, surpassing the $2,000 mark in April and May. After summer, the trend reversed, and the precious metal experienced a sharp decline to the 2023 starting price at the beginning of October.
Following geopolitical uncertainties, gold began to rise again. Its price against the dollar showed an increase of over $300 in less than two months, reaching an all-time high of $2,150 per ounce on December 5.
Bitcoin Became the Favorite Investment of the Year
Bitcoin, along with the rest of the crypto market, had a bad 2022 due to negative processes in the sector and adverse global events. Therefore, it started the year 2023 at the $16,600 level. However, it didn’t take long for Bitcoin to recover from the decline experienced in 2022. By January 13, it had surpassed $20,000 and, despite several pullbacks along the way, it did not lose its momentum since then.
Bitcoin’s price continued to climb, peaking in early December with a price increase reaching around $45,000. Since then, it has faced some selling pressure and is very close to closing the year above the $42,000 level. This means that Bitcoin’s annual gain is over 150%, leaving all other major traditional financial assets far behind.
