Stocks advanced through the 2nd quarter to post strong first-half gains. While the S&P 500 index rose 3.9%, a small group of stocks in the index delivered most of the outperformance. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the fuel propelling stocks since late 2022, and the second quarter of 2024 was no different. Within the S&P 500, companies related to the theme gained 14.7% in market value this past quarter, whereas the rest lost 1.2%.