Nasdaq 100 Hits Record High, Set For Best Annual Performance Since 1999 Tech Boom

The Nasdaq 100 Index surged to an unprecedented high of 16,772.71 at the market open on Tuesday, eclipsing the previous record of 16,764 established on November 22, 2021.

This surge represents a 53% year-to-date (YTD) increase for the U.S. tech stock index, mirroring the entire annual return of 2009. The Nasdaq 100 hasn’t experienced a surge greater than these two instances since 1999, when it achieved a remarkable 102% full-year performance.

The tech-heavy index is closely tracked by the popular Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NYSE:QQQ), the world’s largest exchange-traded fund tracking the U.S. tech sector. The QQQ also recorded a new ATH of $408.36 during early trading on Tuesday. The Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (NYSE:QQQM) is another Nasdaq-100 tracking ETF. The ETF recorded an ATH of $167.94 on Tuesday as well.

Looking at the QQQ’s 1-day technical chart, the Relative Strength Index (RSI), a widely-used momentum indicator that measures the strength of a trend, has now surged to a reading of 78, pushing deeper into the overbought territory. The last occurrence of the RSI reaching such elevated levels was observed on June 15, 2023.

Major 3 Tech Gainers So Far In 2023

Let’s look at the top 3 stocks have been a big part of driving such returns for investors in securities tracking the index.

1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) recorded a 52% gain year to date, contributing significantly with 4.9 percentage points to the overall growth of the index.
2. Microsoft Corp. (NYSE:MSFT) delivered a 56% return, accounting for 4.6 percentage points of the Nasdaq’s total returns.
3. NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) achieved an impressive 244% gain year-to-date, contributing 4 percentage points by itself to the total returns of the index. Moreover, NVIDIA stands as the top-performing component of the Nasdaq 100 for 2023 to date.

Read: Nvidia, Microsoft Reach All-Time Highs, Push Nasdaq 100 Near 2021 Peak – Caution Indicator Flashes

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