Analysts' Top S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now (2024)

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Analysts' Top S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now? ›

However, the discrepancies are relatively small. Moreover, the S&P 500 is slightly below its high right now, so the chart suggests investors that put money into an S&P 500 index fund today could see an annualized return of 11.3% over the next three years.

However, the discrepancies are relatively small. Moreover, the S&P 500 is slightly below its high right now, so the chart suggests investors that put money into an S&P 500 index fund today could see an annualized return of 11.3% over the next three years.

The big-cap tech and social media companies like Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META) and NVIDIA (NVDA) continue to dominate trading, although at a toned-down level from the gains of January, February, and March.

Over the past decade, you would have done even better, as the S&P 500 posted an average annual return of a whopping 12.68%. Here's how much your account balance would be now if you were invested over the past 10 years: $1,000 would grow to $3,300. $5,000 would grow to $16,498.

Investing in a broad market index fund can take a lot of the guesswork away. If you're not a confident investor, an S&P 500 index fund could be your best choice. If you're willing to do the work and research stocks individually, you might enjoy stronger gains in your retirement account.

What are the best S&P 500 stocks to buy? ›

S&P 500 ETFs are exchange-traded funds that passively track this influential U.S. large-cap index. Three of the most popular ETFs that track the S&P 500 are offered by State Street (SPDR), Vanguard (VOO), and iShares (IVV). Index ETFs tend to have lower expense ratios compared to the industry average.

Dubbed the Magnificent Seven stocks, Apple, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla lived up to their name in 2023 with big gains. But the middle part of the second quarter of 2024 showed a big divergence of returns.

The “Magnificent Seven” might sound like the title of an old Western film or what a large family might name its group chat, but in finance the moniker is being used to describe a group of high-performing tech stocks: Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Tesla.

Investing in an S&P 500 fund can instantly diversify your portfolio and is generally considered less risky. S&P 500 index funds or ETFs will track the performance of the S&P 500, which means when the S&P 500 does well, your investment will, too. (The opposite is also true, of course.)

Where does the RA formula see the S&P 500 index 10 years hence? The net 3.2% annual increase in share prices would mean the 500 hits 6000 in June of 2033, just 37% above its close of 4381 on June 22.

Assuming an average annual return rate of about 10% (a typical historical average), a $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 could potentially grow to approximately $25,937 over 10 years.

Analysts think S&P 500 companies will grow earnings 11.4% in 2024, an acceleration from 0.5% in 2023. They also anticipate an acceleration to 14.2% earnings growth in 2025. If actual results fall short, stocks could decline sharply, given that valuations are already elevated.