Alphabet ( GOOG) ( GOOGL ), Philip Morris International ( PM) and Mastercard ( MA) were among the least shorted S&P 500 ( SP500) stocks at December end.

Bets against communication services stocks fell in December compared to the end of November, with Charter Communications (CHTR) being the most shorted stock in the sector and Google-parent Alphabet (GOOG) taking the spot for the least shorted.

There are 11 stock market sectors, but only three beat the S&P 500 last year: communications, financials, and consumer discretionary. Even the technology sector underperformed the S&P 500 last year. In fact, only 148 S&P 500 components beat the index last year, meaning over 70% of components underperformed the index.

Over the past decade, the market capitalization for the Magnificent Seven has grown close to 800 percent. The rest of the S&P 500 has seen its market cap increase by about 150 percent.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have both felt pressure as shares of major tech companies came under pressure Monday. Investors continue to keep a close eye on rising Treasury yields, which heighten worries about valuations, particularly for some of the market's most highly valued names.

Investors are also turning to derivatives, such as CME Group’s S&P 500-equal weight futures, to bet on the S&P while hedging against a sharp drop in tech stocks. The contract, which launched in February, has averaged open interest of 16,500 contracts this month, worth about $2.4bn.

Producer price data signals softer inflation, lifting Dow. Nasdaq, S&P 500 under pressure as Nvidia and Meta fall. CPI report looms for further insights.

The biggest US tech stocks have enjoyed an earnings bonanza in the past two years, leading to their significant outperformance of the broader market.

The S&P 500’s communications services sector (NYSEARCA:XLC) is up nearly 31% in the last one year, outperforming the over 22% rise in the broader market. Alphabet was preceded by Walt Disney ...

Nvidia stock is likely to be a top performer again in 2025 as the company ramps up shipments of its new Blackwell graphics processing units ( GPU s) for data centers. They are potentially the most powerful chips in the world for developing AI models, and demand for them far exceeds supply.

Beating the S&P 500 in 2024 was no easy task, even for growth stocks. The index posted a more than 20% gain for the second consecutive year. But Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR), Pentair (NYSE: PNR), and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) did even better.

U.S. stocks declined on Monday, with the S&P 500 hitting a two-month low as bond yields surged following strong payroll data last week, reinforcing bets that the Federal Reserve will maintain a hawkish stance through most of the year.