The technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 stock index has gotten off to a red-hot start to 2023 -- it's up by 21% so far. That might come as a surprise to many investors owning stock in some of its components, who endured a miserable 2022 during which that index plunged by 33%. It's still more than 20% below its peak.

But since 1986, the Nasdaq-100 has almost never declined for two years in a row. In fact, the only times that consecutive declines happened were during the dot-com crash from 2000 to 2002. Every other time it has suffered a down year, it has bounced back with a positive return the following year.

That's good news for investors in more ways than one. Excluding the dot-com bust period, the Nasdaq-100 has delivered an average return of 52% in the year after a loss. Based on the index's return in 2023 so far, there could be a further 31% worth of upside in the cards.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com