The Nasdaq 100 Index hit a record high of 16,772.71 at the start of trading on Tuesday, surpassing the previous high set in November 2021. This year, the index has seen a 53% increase, similar to the entire annual return of 2009. This level of growth has not been seen since 1999 when it saw a remarkable 102% performance for the year.
The Nasdaq 100 is closely followed by the popular Invesco QQQ Trust ETF, which tracks the U.S. tech sector. The ETF reached a new all-time high of $408.36 on Tuesday. Another ETF that tracks the Nasdaq-100, the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF, also reached a record high of $167.94.
Looking at the technical chart for the QQQ, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has surged to a reading of 78, indicating that the market is overbought. The last time the RSI reached such high levels was in June 2023.
In terms of individual stock performance, Apple Inc. (AAPL) has gained 52% year-to-date, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has seen a 56% return, and NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) has achieved an impressive 244% gain this year. NVIDIA is currently the top-performing component of the Nasdaq 100 in 2023.
Overall, the tech sector has been driving significant returns for investors in securities tracking the Nasdaq 100 index.