Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 2022 winners and losers: energy, tech lead the way

By Daniel Shvartsman 

Investing.com -- Entering the last trading day of the year, it's no surprise to find the 2022 scoreboard filled with energy winners and tech losers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the top performer among major indices, down only 8.6% as of December 29th's close. The Nasdaq Composite was down 33% year-to-date, as was the Nasdaq 100, while the S&P 500 was down 19.2% to date and the Russell 2000 down 21.3% year-to-date.

Drilling down further, the Dow had 20 losers and 10 winners on the year entering Friday's trading. The winners list was a mix of energy (Chevron (NYSE:CVX) at #1), pharmaceuticals (Merck&Company (NYSE:MRK) at #2, Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) at #4), finance (Travelers (NYSE:TRV) at #3), and industrials (Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) at #5).

Tech and media dominated the losing side of the ledger with Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) as the biggest loser, followed by Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS). Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) all placed in the bottom 10. 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) and Nike (NYSE:NKE) also had notably rough years.

Dow Industrial Average components 2022 year-to-date performance through December 29th

Nasdaq 100's Top Gainers and Losers - electric vehicles driving the wrong way

The Nasdaq 100 had a less favorable split than the Dow, with 25 gainers against 75 losers in 2022. The winners side echoed the Dow's list, with energy - Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG), Baker Hughes Co. (NASDAQ:BKR) - and pharmaceuticals - Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD), AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN), Vertex (NASDAQ:VRTX) - featuring, though surprising names included China tech company Pinduoduo (NASDAQ:PDD) and solar energy company Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH).

The losing side was unsurprisingly tilted towards tech, whether it be software-as-a-service providers like Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM), Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS), and Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM); big names such as Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD), PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META); or especially electric vehicle companies like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN), and Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID). Align Technologies (NASDAQ:ALGN), a long-time growth investor favorite, rounded out the bottom 10.

Nasdaq 100 Top 10 winners and losers year-to-date through December 29th

S&P 500 Winners and Losers - Energy in a clean sweep, and a more mixed losers batch

As the most popular index, the S&P 500 should reflect the market in the broadest manner and in a way the winners and losers lists reflect that. Energy is best represented in the S&P 500 and provided each of the top 10 winners, ranging from Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) (the only stock on any of these lists to double) through ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) and on to ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP). You have to get to #12 and #13 on the list to find companies outside of the energy sector, in Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) and McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), each of which rose 50.9%.

The S&P 500 losers list is more diverse, as it includes tech names but also tech or crypto associated banks - SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SIVB) and Signature Bank (NASDAQ:SBNY) - an apparel maker in VF (NYSE:VFC), and energy generator maker Generac Holdings (NYSE:GNRC) as the top loser of the year.

S&P 500 Top 10 winners and losers year-to-date through December 29th

Generac was recently tabbed as a top pick by one investment bank; Tesla has seen a flood of support and questions amidst its wild end of the year trading. And Crude Oil WTI Futures is poised to finish just barely positive for the year. All of which is to say that things can change fast in the market. 2022 has served as clear proof of that market tendency.