Returning 25% in 2024, the S&P 500 delivered a record-breaking year for stock market investors. A resilient global economy coupled with interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve continues to fuel optimism toward a strong outlook.

Nvidia stock is likely to be a top performer again in 2025 as the company ramps up shipments of its new Blackwell graphics processing units ( GPU s) for data centers. They are potentially the most powerful chips in the world for developing AI models, and demand for them far exceeds supply.

Today, history offers us reason to be excited about 2025, suggesting that the S&P 500 is likely to soar as it's done in previous periods. But even if it doesn't, by taking the steps I've mentioned, your portfolio still could advance this year -- and most importantly, over the long run.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was a market-driving theme last year, with AI stocks helping the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each soar in the double digits. Companies selling AI tools and services saw earnings climb -- and investors piled into these players.

The market is coming off two superb years, 2023 and 2024, when the S&P 500 climbed over 53% in total, mainly thanks to tech and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. While 2025 has started off with some turbulence,

The S&P 500 posted its biggest comeback since September as Wall Street shrugged off some weakness in stocks linked to the artificial intelligence trade. The market benchmark rose 0.2% after trading down 0.

Semiconductor stocks are the biggest S&P 500 gainers in Thursday trading, fueled by upbeat commentary from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on the state of the artificial-intelligence market. Chip-equipment stocks KLA Corp.

The S&P 500 added 0.6% on Monday, Jan. 6, led by a surge in semiconductor stocks as the first full week of the new year got underway.

Over a third of the S&P 500's value is now concentrated in the "Mag 7" — a handful of huge companies that sell AI technology.

Advances in AI are causing a paradigm shift across a variety ... Going back 50 years, the S&P 500 has generated positive returns 78% of the time. Furthermore, in years following back-to-back ...

The S&P 500 ended 2024 with a milestone of annual gains not seen in nearly 30 years. The index ended 2024 up 23%, its second year in a row of over 20% gains. That feat marked the

Is the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) the best way to play the artificial intelligence boom? Here's how the AI stock ETF performs vs. others.