Election 2020: the year in US markets
A 30% collapse, a dramatic comeback and new all-time highs; we look back at a remarkable 2020 for US shares amid a global pandemic, an economic collapse and a looming presidential election.
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The year 2020 began with the US stock market at an all-time high and many investors suspecting that US shares were too expensive.
Within weeks, though, everything would change.
The emergence of Covid-19 in Asia was largely ignored by US equities in January and February. But in March, as the global scale of the pandemic became apparent, a series of steep falls erased more than a third of the value of the S&P500. Not for long.
As the chart below shows, the following months brought about an astonishing rebound, pushing the US’s tech-heavy index back to January highs and then far beyond. In August 2020 – one of the best Augusts in US stock market history – the value of Apple rose above $2 trillion, just one of many records smashed in an extraordinary year.
During the period coronavirus cases in the US grew explosively, then tailed off from mid-July through August, only to start climbing again as a second wave of infections took hold into September.
Covid-19 and the response to the pandemic has hobbled some industries and caused others to prosper.
Market volatility has been a constant. In the weeks ahead of 3 November polling day, we have seen market turbulence caused by fears of renewed lockdowns, by disappointment over apparent failures in vaccine development – and notably by the diagnosis of President Trump’s own Covid-19 infection on 3 October.
2020: Twenty US market milestones in an election year
S&P500
Past performance is not a guide to future performance and may not be repeated. SOURCE: Refinitiv Datastream
- 1 January
US markets open year at all-time high: S&P500 at 3,245
- 21 January
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirms first US Covid-19 case
- February
US recorded cases of Covid-19 remain below 100
- 8 March
Saudi Arabia sparks an oil price war as Moscow refuses to lower oil prices as the Covid-19 slump emerges
- 9 March
US markets fall 8%, as anxiety about pandemic intensifies
- 11 March
World Health Organisation declares the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic
- 12 March
US markets fall further 10%
- 13 March
US bans flights from Europe
- 16 March
US markets fall further 13%
- 23 March
US markets bottom with the S&P500 at 2,191 (33% down on the start of the year)
- 27 March
The $2 trillion US fiscal stimulus package is passed
- 1 April
US recorded cases of Covid-19 exceed 1 million during April
- 20 April
US oil prices turn negative as storage costs exceed market value
- 4 June
European Central Bank announces a further €600 billion stimulus, bringing total Covid response to €1.35 trillion
- 11 June
Markets fall 7% as fears of a second wave take hold
- July
US second quarter GDP falls by annualised 32.9%
- August
August sees US stocks rise almost 7% – the best August performance since the 1980s
- 20 August
The market capitalisation of Apple exceeds $2 trillion
- 2 September
Stock market peaks: S&P500 reaches 3,588 – some 64% higher than its March trough
- 3 October
President Trump tests positive for Covid-19
Tech has led the charge
The big contributors to US equities’ resurgent performance in 2020 have been the tech giants.
By the end of September, the S&P500 had returned over 5%. Subtract the contribution of the “FAMAGs” – that’s Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) and the index ended September 3% lower than at the start of the year.
Election year 2020: shaping up to be another year in which US equities outperform other regions
Past performance is not a guide to future performance and may not be repeated. Source: Refinitiv Datastream, MSCI and Schroders. Data to 30 September 2020 in US dollars. Europe = Europe ex UK.
This article is issued by Cazenove Capital which is part of the Schroders Group and a trading name of Schroder & Co. Limited, 1 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Nothing in this document should be deemed to constitute the provision of financial, investment or other professional advice in any way. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of an investment and the income from it may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested.
This document may include forward-looking statements that are based upon our current opinions, expectations and projections. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.
All data contained within this document is sourced from Cazenove Capital unless otherwise stated.
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