S&P 500 vs M2 Money Supply Chart, 1970 to 2024, With Data

Key figures from the chart

Both lines start from the same base, the 1960s average set to 100, so the chart shows how many times each has grown rather than their dollar levels.
By 2024 the S&P 500 index stood at 7,359 on that scale and the U.S. M2 money supply at 4,772, so stocks had grown about 74 times and M2 about 48 times since the 1960s.
M2 rises almost every year, while the S&P 500 swings around it. The chart marks three turning points, the 2000 dot com bubble, the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
The two lines tracked each other closely from the mid 2010s to 2022, then split as stocks rose and M2 dipped.
The chart is by Econovis and cites the Federal Reserve and S&P 500 as sources.

S&P 500 vs M2 money supply in text

The chart is titled “S&P 500 vs. U.S. M2 Money Supply”, with the S&P 500 in red and M2 in blue on a dark background. The y axis reads “S&P 500 Index / U.S. M2 Money Supply (Base Period 1960s = 100)” and runs from 0 to 8,000; the x axis runs from 1970 to 2024-11. Three events are annotated: 2000 Dot-Com Bubble, 2008 Global Financial Crisis and 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.

The values below come from the dataset Econovis published with the chart [1]. The last column is our arithmetic.

Year	S&P 500 (1960s = 100)	M2 (1960s = 100)	S&P 500 divided by M2
1970	110	141	0.78
1975	109	229	0.48
1980	164	360	0.46
1985	254	560	0.45
1990	403	736	0.55
1995	754	816	0.92
1999	1,752	1,043	1.68
2000	1,632	1,107	1.47
2005	1,548	1,503	1.03
2007	1,814	1,680	1.08
2008	1,076	1,842	0.58
2010	1,523	1,979	0.77
2015	2,519	2,776	0.91
2020	4,532	4,298	1.05
2021	5,734	4,846	1.18
2022	4,799	4,784	1.00
2023	5,746	4,661	1.23
2024 (to November)	7,359	4,772	1.54

What M2 money supply is

The Federal Reserve defines the money supply as the total amount of money, such as cash, coins and balances in bank accounts, in circulation [2]. M1 is currency held by the public plus transaction deposits such as checking accounts. M2 is M1 plus small denomination time deposits (under $100,000) and retail money market fund shares [2][3]. The Fed publishes the figures in its H.6 release, “Money Stock Measures” [2].

The Fed notes that money supply has at times shown close relationships with nominal GDP and the price level, and that its policymakers review money supply as one part of a wide range of data [2].

When stocks and money supply moved apart

On the dataset, the S&P 500 first rose above M2 in 1996 and reached 1.68 times M2 in 1999 at the height of the dot com boom. It fell back below M2 in 2002, sat slightly above it from 2004 to 2007, then dropped to 0.58 times M2 in the financial crisis. From 2019 it stayed above, and by 2024 it was 1.54 times M2, the widest gap on the chart (our arithmetic from the dataset [1]).

Econovis’s own commentary says the two generally moved in tandem from the mid 2010s, but that after 2023 the S&P 500 surged even as M2 contracted, and it attributes the divergence to factors such as AI driven stocks, investor sentiment and speculation [1]. That is the creator’s interpretation, not a finding of this page.

Notes on this infographic

An index, not dollars. Neither line shows the S&P 500’s points or M2 in dollars. Both are rebased so the 1960s average equals 100.
Annual points. The dataset has one value per year, and the 2024 value runs to November 2024 [1].
Later M2 figures. Econovis reported M2 at $21.45 trillion in November 2024, up 3.7% on a year earlier but still below its March 2022 peak of $21.86 trillion [4]. Newer data is in the Fed’s H.6 release [3].
No prediction. The chart compares two series. It does not show that money supply causes stock prices to rise or fall, and nothing here is investment advice.

Questions about M2 money supply

What is M2 money supply?

The Federal Reserve defines M2 as M1 (currency and transaction deposits) plus small denomination time deposits under $100,000 and retail money market fund shares [2].

What is the difference between M1 and M2?

M1 covers currency held by the public and transaction deposits such as checking accounts. M2 adds small time deposits and retail money market funds, so it is the broader measure [2].

What is the current M2 money supply in the USA?

This chart ends in November 2024, when Econovis reported M2 at $21.45 trillion [4]. The Federal Reserve publishes current figures in its H.6 Money Stock Measures release [3].