There’s just one more day left in June, and one more day in the second quarter. And you may find a few surprises in the stocks leading the Standard & Poor’s 500 index this month.
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Nvidia (NVDA) has had a big June, up 13.1% for the month. But the shares have struggled a bit under the weight of worries the stock had become way too pricey.
Indeed, if the month had ended Thursday, Nvidia’s gain would rank it “only” 13th among the top S&P 500 stocks.
But don’t weep for Nvidia. The shares are still up 150% in 2024.
The 5 big surprises, at least for now
Here what stocks are leading the S&P 500 for the month going into Friday’s close.
Crowdstrike, up 23.5% for the month: Crowdstrike (CRWD) joined the S&P 500 just on June 24. Shares climbed steadily this month after the security software company reported a 34% gain in revenue to $921 million and guided higher for the rest of the year. Its focus on artificial intelligence has fueled huge growth in share value since the firm’s 2019 initial public offering. The shares have risen 52% in 2024.
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Carnival, up 23.3% for the month. Shares of Carnival (CCL) shares have not been stars for most of this year. But they have jumped 16% just since the cruiseline giant reported Tuesday a surprise profit for the fiscal second quarter. William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia was just one of a host of analysts who raised forecasts. “Demand trends bode well for considerable pricing power in 2025,” she noted. Shares are still up only 0.4% on the year.
Adobe, up 22.9% for the month. Adobe (ADBE) shares have risen after the creative software company crushed estimates for its second-quarter earnings. The stock had struggled into spring despite the robust Nvidia-driven tech rally. (The shares still down 8.4% this year.) Analysts are now more bullish with Adobe, comfortable with how the company expects to work with artificial intelligence.
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Autodesk, up 20.9% for the month. Analysts said the Autodesk (ADSK) demonstrated “improving growth” in the quarter ended on April 30. Operating cash flow is expected to “trend upwards” in the coming quarters. It is still arguing with activist shareholder Starboard Value over disclosure and governance issues. Shares are flat for the year.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in June
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Oracle, up 19.5% for the month. Shares of Oracle (ORCL) , the database giant, have risen this year because of its pivot to concentrate more on developing its healthcare business. Zacks sees cloud revenue jumping to $47 billion in the 2025 fiscal year. A metaphor for its healthcare focus: Oracle is moving its headquarters from Austin, Texas, to Nashville, close to a number of healthcare giants. Shares are up 33% on the year.
How the market looks as the quarter ends
The S&P 500 ended Thursday up 5 points to 5,483. The share shares are up 3.9% for the month, 4.4% for the second quarter and nearly 15% for the first half of 2024.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 54 points to 17,859. The index is up 6.7% in June and 9% for the second quarter and nearly 19% year-to-date.
The Nasdaq-100 Index, which includes many of the hottest stocks this year, was up 38 points to 19,789. It’s up 6.8% so far in June, 8.4% for the quarter, and 17.6% for the year.
Amazon.com (AMZN) , Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL) , and Microsoft (MSFT) , all members of the index, hit 52-week highs on the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36 points to 39,164. The venerable index is up 1.2% in June and down 1.6% for the second quarter. It is up 3.9% in 2024.
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