Year-long experiment: Claude researches the news before every market open and trades a $1,000 paper portfolio against the S&P 500. Here's Day 1

An experiment is underway to determine if an AI agent named Claude can outperform the S&P 500 over a year. Claude researches news before market open and trades a $1,000 paper portfolio. On Day 1, Claude's portfolio value was $1,000.79, a +0.08% change, while a SPY buy & hold strategy showed $996.57, a -0.34% change. Claude initiated four starter positions and maintained 56% in cash, with the long-term goal of assessing its performance against the S&P 500.

This report details the first day of a year-long experiment, unlike typical AI performance claims that lack real-time, long-term market validation against a clear benchmark.