A look at the economic chart for 2024

The global economy continued to surge forwards throughout 2024, particularly in the US. While the worldwide economic landscape wasn’t all roses, there was enough growth from various sectors for traders and economists to be quite happy with overall performance. Rampant inflation seems to be slowly quietening down, for the time being at least, while interest rate cuts in 2025 and beyond look to be firmly on the cards.

This has all created a fairly optimistic outlook for various industries, although the increasingly complex political landscape is one fraught with potential issues. Even so, groundbreaking advances in technology, with innovations like AI, have mitigated any potentially sticky problems so far. It’s too early to tell whether the technology bubble will burst, but for the time being, this is arguably the main driver of overall growth, if you take the global economy as a whole.

Even if you’re not all that interested in particular stocks and shares, knowing about the current economic state of the world is imperative. This doesn’t just help you predict how or where to invest, it can also provide vital information about things like inflation and the cost of living. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the economic chart for 2024. We’ll focus on some of the best performing industries for a concise look at the last year.

2024: a quick economic summary

Before we get into some targeted examples of the top-performing economic industries throughout 2024, let’s gather a quick summary. Going by most metrics, 2024 was another highly successful year for the global stock market, with economic growth continuing to surpass many people’s expectations. Looking at some of the main stock markets can give a vital overview:

• S&P 500: The S&P 500 showcased considerable growth over the last year, demonstrating the exciting possibilities afforded by US tech markets in particular. Growth hit over 26%, which is one of the best performing years on record.

• NASDAQ 100: The NASDAQ 100 didn’t quite hit the heights of the S&P 500, but it certainly isn’t too far behind. Economists are expecting at least a 25% increase by the end of 2024, illustrating the impressive growth.

• FTSE 100: Despite having 5% growth over the past year, the FTSE 100 still trailed American markets quite significantly. This exemplifies the hold US markets have over the economy, but also shows that other regions are performing strongly as well.

Best performing industries throughout the year

That’s a summary of the economic outlook for 2024 out of the way, now let’s go into more detail regarding the best performing industries:

iGaming

New technology and more accessibility have combined to create extremely fertile conditions for the iGaming industry, with software developers and casino platforms benefiting. A combination of fresh new games and increasingly generous bonuses has given the casino online a continued boost, with revenue hitting almost $100 billion during 2024.

Video gaming

Video gaming is another market that has benefited from technological advances throughout 2024. The introduction of new technologies like augmented reality alongside consistently upgraded graphics, gameplay experiences and accessibility has given the sector a considerable boost. Global video gaming revenue hit $184.3 billion throughout 2024, with the mobile gaming sector being particularly instrumental.

Technology

The technology market has been by far the most impressive economic sector during 2024, as demonstrated by the news that Apple is nearing a $4 trillion market valuation. New technology like AI and quantum computing has fueled intense excitement and speculation over the possibilities of modern tech, with many experts heralding a new dawn for computing. The possibilities are quite literally endless, with quantum computing slated to be able to speed up processing by an unprecedented amount. All eyes are on the future here, as it feels like humanity could be on the cusp of something very special.

Finance

The financial services industries have naturally benefited from the positive economic outlook over the past year, experiencing significant growth. A combination of the healthy economic state of the world and high interest rates have led to considerable profits, especially among the four largest US banks. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo collectively reported around $88 billion in profits and the largest market share since 2015.

Energy

The energy industry is on the brink of significant change, as the call to phase out fossil fuels gains steam and new technology makes renewable energy more and more accessible. 2024 continued on the groundwork set during 2023, with the creation of over 250,000 new jobs adding to the overall US economy.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.