- A handful of assets that are less well-known across the market have seen surprising gains in 2023.
- Abercrombie & Fitch stock has soared 273% this year, and altcoin Solana is up nearly 600%.
- In terms of primary products, prices of olive oil and cocoa crops have increased due to damage caused by bad weather, and the price of uranium has also soared.
From crypto stocks to weight-loss drug makers like Magnificent Seven and Ozempic, overall trends have driven the overall market rally this year.
But there were also a few surprising winners that delivered big returns in 2023.
From stocks in retailers beloved by millennials to stocks central to the transition away from fossil fuels, these five lesser-known assets posted impressive gains.
abercrombie stock
The king of 2000s millennial retail fashion is making a comeback, and investors are liking what they see. The stock has soared 290% this year, keeping pace with mega-tech companies like Nvidia and Meta.
Abercrombie reported higher-than-expected sales of $1.06 billion in its latest quarterly report, and raised its sales outlook from 10% to 12% to 14%. Net sales for the quarter increased 30% year over year.
Growth trends indicate consumers may be spending less, and the brand easily outperformed competitors vying for a larger share of young Americans' wardrobes.
Olive oil
This year, a major drought in Europe damaged olive crops, leading to a major shortage of olive oil. As a result, prices have skyrocketed.
This month, the International Olive Council report The price of extra virgin olive oil has increased almost 50% since last year to $0.23 per ounce.
Thursday's Financial Times said, report The soaring prices are said to be causing an increase in olive and olive oil theft. In Greece, some entrepreneurs have begun marketing the product as a luxury item to foreign markets.
cocoa
Cacao prices have fluctuated this year due to bad weather.
Heavy rains in West Africa earlier this year spread a pod-killing disease across the crop, and annual strong winds known as harmattan hit Ivory Coast, further threatening the cocoa harvest, BNN Bloomberg reported. report on friday.
Cocoa prices have recorded their biggest jump since 2008 due to weather patterns.
Prices last month were at a 45-year high, with futures trading at more than $4,000 a ton, Bloomberg reported. The most active cocoa contract traded at a high of £3,588 on December 18, according to BNN.
Solana
So-called altcoins were hit by market events in 2022, including the crypto winter that put many companies in a crypto crisis, and the dramatic collapse of FTX at the end of the year.
Among the tokens that attracted attention was Solana, which made a blockbuster comeback in 2023 and soared more than 560% this year. The token rose further on Friday, trading at $106.
Fallen crypto tycoon Sam Bankman Fried was a big fan of the token, purchasing Solana when it was just $0.20.In court he said this Using funds from AlamedaFTX's sister trading company buys cryptocurrencies.
uranium
Uranium prices have fallen sharply this year due to the resurgence of nuclear power amid a planned transition away from fossil fuels.
In November, uranium prices exceeded $80 for the first time in 15 years. Hedge funds are betting on mining stocks and uranium derivatives as the nuclear sector is expected to grow.
In October, Bloomberg Intelligence found that uranium prices have soared by a whopping 125% since the end of 2020. During the same period, uranium ETF assets increased 20 times.
