The S&P 500 (SPX) bounced back on Thursday after the index saw a major dip yesterday alongside the December Federal Reserve meeting results. Announcements included a 25 basis point cut to interest rates, which experts expected. What wasn’t welcome were warnings of a potential slowdown to further interest rate cuts.
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When that news first broke yesterday, the S&P 550 spiraled lower alongside the Dow Jones (DJIA). However, that news couldn’t keep the index down long, with it rising 0.69% as of this writing. Even with yesterday’s drop, the SPX is still up 23.11% year-to-date.
Stocks Lifting the S&P 500 Index Today
Checking out the latest heatmap data, a slew of stocks are responsible for the S&P 500 regaining lost ground today. The three sectors doing the most lifting are technology, communication services, and finance. Leading these are Nvidia (NVDA) with a 3.51% gain in tech, Netflix (NFLX) with a 1.93% increase in communications, and American Express (AXP) with a 2.23% jump in finance. The heatmap below shows investors the other stocks majorly contributing to the S&P 500’s recovery today.
How to Invest in the S&P 500
The S&P 500 can’t be invested in directly as it’s only an index. However, there are a couple of options for traders who want to expose themselves to its stocks. The first is buying shares that are listed on the index. The stocks mentioned above are solid options as they lead the index higher today.
The next option would be investing in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500. In this instance, traders could buy into ETFs that bet on the success or failure of the stocks on the index. A few examples worth considering, including the popular SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), are listed in TipRanks’ comparison tool below.
