As 2025 progresses, the U.S. stock market exhibits a notable shift from the past two years, in which seven major tech stocks, including Apple (AAPL, Financial), Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), Tesla (TSLA), and NVIDIA (NVDA), dominated gains. These seven saw a decline of 2.51% in 2025, while the other stocks in the S&P 500 Index rose by 5.32%.
This year, about 46% of companies within the S&P 500 have outpaced the index's 2.6% rise. The market environment now favors stock pickers more as tariff uncertainties fade, leading to more independent stock movements. In the current landscape, AI remains a focus, yet not all big winners are tied to this transformative technology.
Industrial stocks (XLI) rose over 9% and Utilities (XLU) gained 7%, reflecting broader participation. According to Richard Bernstein, CEO of Richard Bernstein Advisors, this trend signifies improving economic health. Meanwhile, AI and defense company Palantir (PLTR) emerged as a top performer with an 80% gain, alongside diverse winners such as NRG Energy (NRG), Newmont (NEM), and Dollar General (DG).
Bernstein suggests that wider stock participation could be a positive sign for future market development, contrasting with the concentrated gains of previous years.
