It's been a rocky road for the Nasdaq Composite over the past few years. But after slumping 33% in 2022, it soared 43% last year, and this bullish trend has persisted into early 2024.

Interestingly, the Nasdaq has demonstrated a solid ability to rebound for at least a couple of years after downturns. For example, after declining nearly 32% in 2002, the Nasdaq jumped about 50% and 9% respectively in 2003 and 2004. And, after crashing by almost 41% in 2008, the technology-heavy index posted hefty returns of around 44% and 17% respectively in 2009 and 2010.

With this pattern in mind, there's good reason to expect decent performance from the Nasdaq in 2024. And with artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a major investment theme, this trend could well continue. Against this backdrop, here's why Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) are smart buys now.

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Source Fool.com