The S&P 500 is one of the most widely used benchmarks, comprising 500 of the largest publicly traded American companies from various industries. Despite concerns about a potential economic downturn, the S&P 500 has shown gains of 7.8% year-to-date and 15.5% over the past six months.
Despite the market volatility, I think investors could consider investing in quality dividend-paying S&P 500 stocks Bilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD – Get Rating) and Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC – Get Rating), which have gained 34.3% and 50% over the past year.
Despite Friday’s losses, the S&P 500, along with other major averages, posted solid weekly gains, yet another sign of resiliency for the stock market.
The S&P 500 is a popular gauge for the performance of the US stock market. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has averaged a full-year gain of 18.6%. Moreover, the S&P 500 was remarkably resilient in March, especially given the uncertainty radiating from the banking sector and tightening credit markets.
Moreover…
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