When we asked what they would do with an extra $10,000 right now, the largest share of Investopedia’s readers surveyed earlier this month said they would buy individual stocks. That’s been the trend since the fall of 2023, with stocks overtaking certificates of deposit (CDs) as their top choice as indications the Federal Reserve could lower interest rates whet investors’ appetites for risk.
Nvidia (NVDA) was also one of their favorite stocks, with the artificial intelligence (AI) darling commanding recent headlines as demand for AI grows. A few other investments that have made recent headlines include bitcoin (BTC), gold, cocoa futures, and Reddit (RDDT), after the social media company surged in its trading debut last week.
Not to be mistaken for investment advice, here’s a brief look at what $10,000 could get you today in five investments that have been in the news lately.
11.07 Shares of Nvidia
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One of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, Nvidia has seen its stock price surge 83% so far this year, and more than triple in value over the last 12 months.
The company made headlines with its annual conference earlier this month, and even stocks associated with Nvidia have soared in recent weeks, as a number of tech stocks that Nvidia revealed it held stakes in surged after the chipmaker’s disclosure.
As of Thursday’s close, shares of Nvidia were worth $903.56, and with a $10,000 investment, an investor could purchase about 11.07 shares of Nvidia. U.S. markets were closed on Friday for a holiday.
1 Metric Ton of Cocoa Futures
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Cocoa futures made headlines for reaching record highs this week as high demand and supply constraints drove their prices higher.
Cocoa futures contracts trade in a fluctuating dollar amount per metric ton, and typical contracts are traded in at least 10 metric tons. At current prices, investors would need much more than $10,000, as the Intercontinental Exchange lists the current price at $9,741 per metric ton, more than double where they started this year at around $4,200.
That price means an investor could only get about 1.01 metric tons with $10,000, much less than the size of a typical futures contract.
About 1/7th of a Bitcoin
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Bitcoin has rallied to record highs this year as billions of dollars flowed into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 such funds in January. Investors are also anticipating an upcoming halving, an event that could boost the price of bitcoin.
With its price hovering around $70,500 as of Friday morning, an investment of $10,000 would net an investor just 0.142 bitcoin. Bitcoin has surged about 60% so far this year.
4.5 Ounces of Gold
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Gold reached record-high prices this week as governments continued to buy the commodity, with investors bullish on the precious metal expecting Fed rate cuts later this year could drive the price even higher. In its 2024 outlook, the World Gold Council estimated just a 5% to 10% chance that economic conditions would drive down the price of gold this year.
Gold price is charted per ounce, and was trading Friday morning at $2,233 per ounce, for an increase of about 8% so far in 2024. A $10,000 investment would net about 4.5 ounces of gold, which is about 0.28 pound.
202 Shares of Reddit
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Reddit finally made its long-awaited debut as a public company last week, in the first initial public offering (IPO) for a social media company since 2019.
Reddit priced its IPO at $34 per share, at the higher end of its anticipated range, and shares quickly shot well above that level, eventually settling about 48% higher in its first day of trading.
Reddit closed Thursday at $49.32, about 45% higher than its IPO price. A $10,000 investment at that price would net about 202 shares.