S&P 500 Crosses Above 1,300

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, in all its glory, received loads of attention yesterday for crossing above the 12,000 level for the first time since mid-2008.  Today the S&P 500 crossed above the 1,300 level for the first time since September 2nd, 2008 with little fanfare. 

While the S&P 500 itself is obviously flat since 9/2/08, the average stock that was in the index on that day (and still exists) is up 7%.  There have been 64 additions and subtractions to the index since then as well, and the average performance since 9/2/08 of the stocks currently in the index is 13%. 

Below we highlight the 25 best performing S&P 500 stocks since 9/2/08 that were in the index that day as well as the 25 best performing S&P 500 stocks since 9/2/08 that are in the index now.  As shown, Ford Motor (F) has done the best since the last time the S&P was at 1,300 of the names that were in the index then.  Netflix (NFLX) and priceline.com (PCLN), two names that have been added to the index since then, have both done better than Ford, however, with gains of 584% and 348% respectively.  In fact, 11 of the 25 current S&P 500 members that have done the best since the last time the index was at 1,300 weren't even in the index at the time.

Subscribe to Bespoke Premium and receive actionable advice on topics across the trading spectrum!