Review of Market Performance in the First Half of 2024: Strong Gains in both US Stocks and Cryptocurrencies

With Friday's close, the U.S. stock market officially ended the strong performance of the first half of 2024. Due to the AI artificial intelligence boom, the Nasdaq surged by 18.1% in the first half of the year. The S&P 500 saw a 14.5% increase, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged behind with a modest 3.8% gain. As for cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has seen a 43% increase year-to-date, while Ethereum has surged by 48%.

Inflation Data PCE in Line with Expectations

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported on Friday that the inflation rate in May slowed to the lowest annual rate in over three years. The core PCE, which excludes the more volatile food and energy prices, rose only 0.1% from the previous month and increased by 2.6% annually, meeting market expectations and indicating a continued cooling of inflation.

According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, investors have slightly increased their expectations of a rate cut this year, believing there is a 62.4% chance that the Federal Reserve will restart its rate-cutting cycle in September and may cut rates again in December.

U.S. Stocks Deliver Strong Performance in the First Half of the Year

With Friday's close, U.S. stocks officially ended the first half of 2024 with a strong performance. Fueled by the AI boom, the Nasdaq surged by 18.1% in the first half of the year. The S&P 500 rose by 14.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged behind with a modest 3.8% increase.

NVIDIA, leading the AI surge, skyrocketed by 150% and closed at $123.54 yesterday after a stock split.

Cryptocurrency Market, Despite Recent Downturn, Shows Decent Performance This Year

As for cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has risen by 43% year-to-date, while Ethereum has surged by 48%. Although the gains are not as impressive as the overall stock market, Bitcoin and Ethereum have shown relative weakness in recent times compared to the soaring stock market.

Especially with the Ethereum spot ETF not yet officially approved for listing and news of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accusing Lido and Rocket Pool of engaging in securities activities through staking, and suing Consensys for violating securities laws by selling securities through MetaMask, the overall sentiment in the cryptocurrency market has been more subdued.

Crypto-related stocks like MicroStrategy have nearly doubled in the first half of the year at 98.92%, and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase saw a 28% increase in the first half of the year.

Software company MicroStrategy, self-proclaimed as a "Bitcoin development company," has attracted significant funds in the traditional financial market by continuously buying Bitcoin. T-Rex Fund even applied for the first 2x leveraged long MicroStrategy ETF in the U.S. market. Despite bearish positions betting on its decline, MicroStrategy's performance in terms of stock price has indeed outperformed Bitcoin and most tech stocks.

If MicroStrategy is not enough, T-Rex applies for 2x leveraged MSTR ETF.