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The Dow, down! The S&P 500, down! And the NASDAQ, down! What a record for 2008! But sound as bad as the Detroit Lions' uNPRecedented 0-16 runless season. There are actually some big winners this year, but not many. Out of the S&P 500, 478 are closing the year in the red, while just 22 stocks will end 2008 in the black. Believe it or not, the top two performers in the S&P 500 are consumer-related stocks. No, not Wal-Mart, not McDonalds, they’ve had good years though.
The winners are, drumroll please, Family Dollar, no surprise there, and US Tobacco. Now with the index down roughly 39% from the beginning of the year, it has headed for its worst annual performance since the S&P made its debut in 1957. But discount retailer Family Dollar is on track to be the top performer this year as of Tuesday the stock was up more than 32%. And giving credence to the theory that vices are recession-proof, shares of UST, the maker of smokeless tobacco products like Copenhagen and Skoal as well as wine are up more than 26% this year, putting it squarely in the second slot. Now to be sure UST had a bit help this year. See the big spike on this chart, that’s when Altria Group announced its agreement to acquire UST for nearly 70 bucks a share. But the strength of these two companies in the midst of a recession, well, it’s nothing new.
We saw something similar when the market tanked last. Peak to trough from August 2000 to September of 2002, the S&P 500 tumbled some 46%. But during that time, Family Dollar’s stocks spiked 49% and shares of UST shot up more than 30%. So what’s your bet for the best and of course the worst performers of 2009? Let us know, Chime in right here on our talk-back segment on cnnmoney.com. Have a great new year!