Stock Market Statistics in 2024

The first stock exchange in the world was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1602. Since then, the stock market, also known as the equity market or securities market, has experienced enormous highs and lows.

The stock market attracts the attention of investors worldwide for one simple reason — it offers the opportunity to multiply capital.

In this article, TradingWebsite will present the remarkable statistics of the stock market that will be of interest to traders, journalists, and bloggers.

For additional information on financial markets, you can find it in our previous articles dedicated to Forex statistics and cryptocurrency statistics.

Contents

Key Stock Market Statistics in 2024

The total trading volume in the stock market from July 2020 to June 2021 amounted to nearly $149 trillion.
The first modern stock exchange was created in 1602 in Amsterdam.
The overall return on Amazon stocks is approximately 199,000%.
The stock market experienced three crashes of 35% over the past 23 years, two of which led to market declines of over 50%.
The oldest U.S. stock index, the Dow Jones, has grown by 2,143,179% since its establishment in 1884.
The average annual return of the stock market is around 10%.
35% of stock market transactions take place off-exchange.
April and November 2022 were the most successful trading months for the S&P 500 in the last 20 years, while January and September saw almost no change in the S&P 500 value, as usual.
The most profitable exchange-traded fund (ETF) is iShares PHLX Semiconductor (SOXX).
The U.S. holds 55.9% of the total value of the international stock market.
Approximately 53% of U.S. families invest in the stock market.

1. The Strongest Stock Market Crash in the 2000s

The S&P 500 index lost over 50% of its value from 2000 to 2002. This occurred due to the collapse of the dot-com bubble. The market decline lasted for 2 years and 8 months, after which the markets began to recover and reached new all-time highs within 5 years.

In October 2007, the S&P 500 index again reached an all-time high but failed to go higher. A new financial crisis followed, leading to a market decline of over 57% from 2007 to 2009.

Afterward, the stock market began to rise again, reaching new price highs only in 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic caused the most significant stock market crash. During that period, the S&P 500 lost 35% of its value in just one month.

Having experienced a devastating crash during the pandemic, the S&P 500 stabilized in March 2020, hitting a low point at $218.26. In January 2022, the S&P 500 reached a new all-time high at $479.98. Interestingly, during the same period, some stocks lost over 80% of their value in the stock market, but companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google managed to weather the bear market without significant losses.

Currently, investors in the stock market do not have a consensus on whether the bottom has been formed or if the market will decline by another 30% before a rebound.

Data source: Daytradingz.

2. Record Trading Volume in the Stock Market in 2021

According to Statista, the total trading volume in the international stock market amounted to $41 trillion in the third quarter of 2021, setting a record. Trading volumes in the first, second, and third quarters of 2021 were significantly higher compared to 2020.

Data source: Statista.

3. Trading S&P 500: Better in Summer or Late Spring/Fall

Over the past 22 years, the best months for trading the S&P 500 index have been April, August, and November. Interestingly, January, June, and September have been the worst months for trading the S&P 500 on the stock market.

However, over the past 5 years, the statistics have changed: April, June, July, and November are now successful months for trading the S&P 500, while February and September are extremely unfavorable for trading the index.

Data source: Daytradingz.

4. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Holds the Largest Market Share

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the largest stock exchange globally. The NYSE owns the largest market share and offers traders the narrowest bid-ask spread (the difference between the buying and selling price of an asset).

Among the companies listed on the NYSE, there are companies with small, medium, and large capitalizations. For example, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) is the most valuable company (with a market capitalization of around $690 billion) listed on the NYSE, followed by Taiwanese company Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) with a market capitalization of $561 billion, and American multinational conglomerate JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) with a market capitalization of $497 billion on the stock market.

Data source: NYSE.

In January 2022, the US held the largest share of the global stock market at 59.9%. Japan ranked second with 6.2%, followed by the UK with 3.9%.

Data source: Statista.

6. The Largest Initial Public Offering (IPO) in History

Saudi Aramco, the oil company and fuel giant of Saudi Arabia involved in exploration, extraction, transportation, and trading of crude oil and natural gas, is one of the largest companies in the world. In December 2019, Saudi Aramco conducted the largest IPO in history on the Saudi stock exchange. By selling over 3 billion shares, Saudi Aramco raised $25.6 billion. After selling an additional 450 million shares, the total capital raised increased to $29.4 billion.

Top 5 companies that conducted the largest IPOs in history:

Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia): $25.6 billion in 2019 (shares not traded on foreign exchanges)
Alibaba (China): $25 billion in 2014
Agricultural Bank of China (China): $22.1 billion in 2010
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (China): $21.9 billion in 2006
SoftBank Corp (Japan): $21.3 billion in 2018.

Data source: Daytradingz.

7. Majority of American Families Trade in the Stock Market

According to the Federal Reserve Survey in 2019, 53% of American families owned stocks in the stock market. Families with higher incomes are more likely to invest in the stock market, while only one in three families with below-average incomes invested their earnings in stocks.

Data source: Federal Reserve Survey.

8. Companies with the Highest Market Capitalization

In December 2022, Apple (AAPL) was the most valuable company in the world, with a market capitalization of $2.3 trillion on the stock market. Microsoft (MSFT) ranked second, with an estimated value of $1.9 trillion in 2021. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) held the third position with a market capitalization of $1.3 trillion.

Interestingly, the market value of all these companies significantly decreased between October 2021 and June 2022.

Data source: Daytradingz.

9. The Most Profitable Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) in the Past 10 Years

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become highly popular investment instruments in recent times. The low cost and zero commission for purchasing US ETFs make them attractive to investors.

The technology sector ETF, iShares PHLX Semiconductor (SOXX), tops the list of the most profitable ETFs in the past 10 years with a return of over 980%.

For comparison, during the same period, the S&P 500 index grew by only 322%.

Data source: Daytradingz.

10. The Most Profitable Industry in the US by Revenue Volume

According to IBISWorld statistics for 2022, the wholesale trade of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and toiletries in the US generated revenue of $1.16 trillion, making it the highest-grossing industry. Medical insurance and health insurance ranked second with revenue of $1.14 trillion.

Data source: IBISWorld’s.

11. 35% of Trading Volume Takes Place Off-Exchange

According to SEC data, 22% of trades, 37% of shares, and 35% of USD volume are traded off the stock market. Institutional investors conduct trades without displaying quotes for public view. They do this to fulfill orders from large clients without leaving a trace on the official stock market.

Data source: SEC.

12. Cases When the US Stock Market Was Closed

Instances when the US stock market closed can be counted on one’s fingers. Usually, this happened after extreme events. Here are some examples: global crises, defaults of systemically important companies, terrorist attacks, or other «black swan» events that could potentially cause high market volatility and rapid declines in stock prices within a short period.

The first time the US stock market halted trading was after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

In 1873, the market closed for ten days following the bankruptcy of the American bank Jay Cooke & Company, which served as a broker and introduced trading «by wire,» where investors bought and sold securities using telegraph.

After the start of World War I in 1914, the US stock market closed to prevent massive selling of American securities by European investors.

There have been other instances throughout the 20th century when the market halted trading. Now, let’s focus on more recent events:

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ were closed for almost a week.
On December 1, 2008, the US stock market was inaccessible for trading due to the market crash caused by the global financial crisis.
In 2020, the US stock market closed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic: March 9, 10, and 12.

The New York Stock Exchange automatically halts trading when the S&P 500 index drops rapidly:

Level 1 (trading halted for 15 minutes): S&P 500 declines by 7% compared to the previous closing price.
Level 2 (trading halted for 15 minutes): S&P 500 declines by 13% compared to the previous closing price.
Level 3 (trading prohibited for the rest of the day): S&P 500 declines by 20% compared to the previous closing price.

Despite the restrictions, institutional investors often continue to trade stocks through dark pools.

Trading halts on the NASDAQ and NYSE do not occur frequently, but temporary trading suspensions for certain stocks happen almost daily.

Data source: Daytradingz.

13. The Most Expensive Stock in the World

Shares of the American company Berkshire Hathaway Inc., listed on the New York Stock Exchange, are the most expensive in the world. One share of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. currently costs $480,280.

Data source: TradingView.

14. 10% of the Wealthiest American Investors Own 89% of the US Stock Market

Between 53% and 58% of Americans trade in the stock market. Compared to 1989, the number of American traders has increased by 26%. One of the reasons why so many American investors participate in stock market trading is the high level of financial literacy compared to the rest of the world. Another important factor is that Americans usually invest in the market through mutual funds and retirement programs.

More interestingly, the top 10% of the wealthiest investors in the US own 89% of the stock market share. A significant portion of their investments is in the form of corporate stocks and mutual fund holdings.

Data sources: USAfacts, Gallup, CNBC.

15. Most Profitable Stocks in the Past 25 Years

The total return of Amazon since its IPO in 1997 has been around 199,000%, surpassing the returns of any other technology company in the past 30 years. For comparison, $1,000 invested in Amazon’s stocks in 1997 would be worth $1.99 million today.

Amazon ranks second after Microsoft (despite the latter going public 11 years earlier) in terms of wealth creation (growth in market capitalization adjusted for business and non-business cash flows). Since its IPO, Amazon has created a corporation with a total capital of $1.57 billion and has provided an annualized weighted return in dollars of 31.1%.

This massive profit illustrates Amazon’s historical journey, transforming from an online bookstore to an international e-commerce and cloud services leader with a market capitalization exceeding $1 trillion.

Data source: Daytradingz.

16. Most Successful Industry in the Stock Market in the Past Decade

The international technology sector has been the most successful industry in the stock market over the past decade, showing a growth of 433.6%. The driving forces behind this growth are primarily American giants such as Facebook, Alphabet, and Microsoft.

Global technology companies have also contributed to significant sector growth. For example, the stocks of investment holding company Tencent have soared 1,530% in the past decade, compared to 290% for the S&P 500 stock index.

Data source: Daytradingz.

17. Average Stock Market Returns of 10% per Year

The average annual return of the S&P 500 index since its inception in 1957 has been around 10.7%. Adjusted for inflation, the average returns decrease to 7-8%, which is still a decent return for a passive investment strategy.

According to data from Nobel laureate in economics Robert Shiller, the annualized return of the S&P 500 from 1971 to present has been 7.58%. When considering reinvested dividends, this figure increases to 10.51%.

In recent years, the stock market has shown even better performance. For example, from 2012 to 2021, the stock market’s annual return was 14.8% (or 12.4% adjusted for inflation).

The stock market tends to grow about 70% of the time, taking into account periods of both asset declines and growth.

Data sources: Business Insider, Forbes.

18. Most Fund Managers Fail to Outperform the S&P 500

The majority of fund managers fail to outperform the stock market. For example, from 2003 to 2018, 92.43% of large-cap fund managers, 95.3% of mid-cap fund managers, and 97.7% of small-cap fund managers underperformed the market.

At best, only around 20% of active fund managers manage to outperform the S&P 500 in the long run. Mid-cap active managers show better performance over one year, with approximately every second manager outperforming the market. However, more than 63% of large-cap managers and over 72% of small-cap managers are unable to achieve the same returns as the S&P 500 stock index.

Data source: AEI.

19. Apple — Stock with the Highest Volatility in the Stock Market

The most liquid stocks are usually those of technology companies, such as Microsoft, Tesla, AMD, Alphabet, Amazon, and others. However, the most actively traded among them are Apple (AAPL) stocks. In almost the entire September 2022, the daily trading volume of AAPL stocks frequently exceeded $100 million.

Interestingly, Apple became the first company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. In September 2022, Apple was worth more than the GDP of France, Canada, Brazil, or Italy.

Data source: Forbes.

20. The First Modern Stock Exchange

Stock trading has existed in various forms for many centuries, but the first modern stock exchange was established in 1602 in Amsterdam. The exchange was founded simultaneously with the Dutch East India Company, which became the first publicly traded company in history.

In 2000, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange merged with the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange, forming the pan-European stock exchange Euronext.

The first stock exchange in the United States was the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, founded in 1790. It was initially called the «Board of Brokers of Philadelphia.»

Data source: Daytradingz.

21. The Value of the Oldest US Stock Index (Dow Jones) Has Increased Over 2 Million Percent

The S&P 500 index, which includes 503 stocks of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the US, in its current format, was established in 1957. Over the past 66 years, the index has grown by 14,432%. However, the S&P 500 index became available for trading only in 1993. Since then, its value has increased by 816%.

The oldest US stock index is considered the Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJTA), which was created in 1884 by American Charles Dow. Since its inception, the DJIA index has grown by 2,143,179%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), introduced to the stock market in 1896, is the second oldest index in the world after the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

The Nasdaq 100 was formed in 1985 and has since grown by 9,082%. The first exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on the Nasdaq 100 index (known as QQQ) was launched in 1999, and its value has increased by 479.65% since then.

Data source: Daytradingz.