January 6, 2025 | 12:00am
The holidays are over. It’s time to pack up the Christmas tree, bundle up your gifts and see which treasures are truly worth keeping.
Cocoa’s sweet surprise
If Santa slipped chocolate into your stocking, don’t devour it just yet. Cocoa prices surged by 172 percent – making it 2024’s top-performing commodity.
Poor harvests turned your holiday sweets into golden treats as cocoa prices soared past just about everything else on the board.
Bitcoin bonanza
Crypto investors who weathered Bitcoin’s 64-percent drop in 2022 saw their patience pay off. It registered two straight years of triple-digit returns – up by 155 percent in 2023 and another 121 percent in 2024.
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds became mainstream. Trump’s return to the White House ignited hopes for more friendly regulations to promote crypto’s wider adoption.
Coffee’s roasting rally
That pricey morning latte just got pricier. Arabica coffee spiked by 67 percent to a four-decade high due to a severe drought in Brazil that cast doubt on next season’s supply.
Suddenly, those P160 Americanos feel like a bargain compared to what’s brewing ahead.
Tech stocks bring cheer
If you got tech stocks in your holiday hamper, you probably closed 2024 with a big cheer. The Magnificent Seven tech giants – Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta and Tesla – soared by 62 percent as AI stocks dominated.
The Nasdaq Composite surged by 28.6 percent and the broader S&P 500 returned by 23.3 percent, buoyed by Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda.
Tesla, led by Elon Musk, Trump’s biggest campaign donor, saw a significant run-up following Trump’s win.
Trump’s treats for Wall Street
Trump’s return to the White House came with a sack full of treats for Wall Street.
His promise of deregulation boosted banks like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, whose stocks jumped by 41 percent and 48 percent, respectively, in 2024. The financial sector ETF (XLF) held huge gains, closing the year with a solid 28.5-percent return.
Asia’s mixed bag
In Asia’s gift bag, the presents were a mixed assortment. Taiwan emerged as the region’s standout, wrapping up a 28.5-percent gain thanks to its tech-heavy market capitalizing on the global AI boom.
Beijing’s stimulus lifted Hong Kong stocks by 17.7percent and mainland Chinese stocks by 14.7 percent. But it wasn’t all festive cheer as South Korean stocks played the Grinch with a 9.6-percent decline.
ASEAN’s winners and losers
The Global X FTSE Southeast Asia ETF (symbol: ASEA), which was up by nearly 20 percent at one point, finished 2024 with a modest 5.7-percent gain.
Singapore stocks led the region with a 16.9-percent increase, followed by Malaysia’s 12.9-percent gain. The Philippine stock market barely moved, delivering just a 1.2-percent return while Thai stocks dipped by 1.1 percent and Indonesian stocks fell by 3.2 percent.
Japan’s value play
Warren Buffett’s bet on Japanese equities continued to pay off. The Nikkei rose by 18.2 percent in 2024, capping a 52.8-percent two-year gain.
This marked the best two-year return in a decade as global investors embraced Japan’s value proposition.
Gold’s glittering run
Central banks and ordinary people flocked to gold amid geopolitical tensions. The precious metal soared by 27 percent to record highs in 2024. Whether in jewelry or bullion, gold reaffirmed its timeless appeal.
Rice relief for households
If you found a bag of Thai rice among your gifts, it might not be the flashiest gift. But with prices tumbling 21 percent, Filipino households will benefit. Sometimes, the best gifts are the ones that cost less.
US dollar dominates
Receiving US dollars as “aguinaldo” this Christmas turned out to be a rewarding gift as the greenback rose by 7.1 percent last year. In contrast, the euro dropped by 6.2 percent, nearing parity with the dollar, while the Japanese yen weakened by 10.3 percent, poised to test a key support level at 160.
The Chinese yuan slid by 2.8 percent to 7.2988, marking its worst close since 2008.
The Philippine peso weakened by 4.3 percent as the Korean won led declines in Asia, plunging by 12.4 percent.
Latin American currencies fared the worst, with the Brazilian real tumbling by 21.4 percent and the Mexican peso dropping by 18.5 percent.
Bonds fail to dazzle
Treasuries, the usual go-to gift for cautious investors, had a bad year. The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF lost 2.4 percent last year, with many funds focused on long-term bonds ending in the red.
What you keep matters most
As you pack away your holiday gifts and reflect on your portfolio, remember: it’s not about what the market gives you–it’s about what you choose to keep.
As the timeless maxim goes, “The trend is your friend.” Those who held on to their winners closed the year with more than just holiday cheer.
Philequity Management is the fund manager of the leading mutual funds in the Philippines. Visit www.philequity.net to learn more about Philequity’s managed funds or to view previous articles. For inquiries or to send feedback, please call (02) 8250-8700 or email [email protected].
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