The Santa Claus Rally may be iffy, but a 23.31% gain in the S&P 500 ($SPX) for the year isn’t too shabby. It was a stellar year in the stock market, especially for the top 10 weighted stocks in the S&P 500, and that’s worth making a toast as we close out 2024.
In terms of the performance of S&P 500 stocks, Palantir Technologies (PLTR), Vistra Corp (VST), and NVIDIA (NVDA) took the top 3 spots. But performance is just one measure, and there are several other benchmarks. One that’s worth considering is strength, and, as the year winds down, let’s look at which S&P 500 stocks ended the year as the technically strongest ones.
In the Sample Scan Library, if you run the S&P 500 Stocks under Predefined Groups and sort the results by the StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR, pronounced S-C-O-O-T-E-R) from highest to lowest, PLTR takes the crown, followed by United Airlines Holdings Inc. (UAL) and then Tesla Inc. (TSLA). Let’s look at each of these stocks more closely.
PLTR Stock’s Ride to the Top
When PLTR’s stock went public in 2020, it was volatile — there was a lot of chatter about the stock in the media. But in 2022, the stock went through a slump. In 2023, it started showing signs of resurfacing, gaining strength, getting clobbered, and reviving itself before making its way to the top of the performance and strength category.
The daily chart below shows that PLTR’s stock price has had a SCTR score above 76 since early June 2024. During that time, the stock price stayed above its 50-day simple moving average (SMA), except for in August when it dipped below it for two trading days.
FIGURE 1. PLTR STOCK ENDED THE YEAR WITH THE HIGHEST SCTR SCORE. The stock has been in an uptrend since mid-2024.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.
PLTR stock was up 340.59% for the year and ended the year with a SCTR score of 99.7.
UAL Stock Takes Off
Airline stocks, in general, were hit hard by COVID-19, and the recovery has been slow. However, the resumption of travel by US consumers in 2024 helped many airline stocks, especially UAL.
After trading relatively sideways from 2020 to mid-2024, UAL’s stock price started a steep ascent in mid-September 2024. It crossed above its 50-day SMA and has remained above it for the year, hitting its altitude and now cruising at that level with some turbulence (see daily chart of UAL).
FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF UAL STOCK PRICE. Since September 2024, UAL has ascended steeply and hit cruising altitude.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.
The SCTR score has remained above 76 since September 16. UAL stock gained 134.34% in 2024 and ended the year with a SCTR score of 99.1.
TSLA Stock’s Wild Ride
TSLA is a stock that has been front and center in investors’ minds and is one of the most actively traded stocks in the S&P 500. The price gained traction towards the end of 2019 and, even though it had a rough 2022 and a pretty choppy 2023, TSLA’s stock has shown its might towards the second half of 2024 (see daily chart of TSLA).
FIGURE 3. TSLA STOCK’S A LITTLE CHOPPY. Although it has had its ups and downs, the stock rallied during the last quarter of the year.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.
Since the end of October, TSLA’s SCTR score has remained above 76 and the stock price has remained above its 50-day SMA. TSLA’s stock price gained 62.52% in 2024 and ended the year with a 98.4 SCTR score.
The Bottom Line
Will these three stocks — PLTR, TSLA, and UAL — remain strong in 2025? Be sure to add them to your ChartLists so you can keep an eye on their performance.
If the SCTR score remains high, consider adding positions when price pulls back and reverses with a follow-through. If the stocks show signs of weakening, it’s time to reevaluate. Identify which stocks are taking their place, analyze each one, and determine if adding the strong ones can add muscle to your portfolio.
Scanning for S&P 500 stocks with high SCTR scores is relatively simple to do in StockCharts. There are many other scans to explore in the Sample Scan Library. The nice thing is the scans are already built for you — coding skills are not necessary! It’s something to consider for 2025.
Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.