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By Nicholas
Jasinski | Thursday, December 31 2021. Stocks rang
out the end of 2020 with modest moves—although good enough for the S&P
500 and Dow
Jones Industrial Average to end a tumultuous year at record
highs. A
tech-powered rally boosted indexes to new heights this year, despite a deep
recession and an uncontrolled pandemic. The Nasdaq
Composite surged nearly 44% in
2020—the best year for the index since 2009’s rebound following the financial
crisis. The S&P
500 ended 2020 up 16%, extending its two-year gain to just below 50%—its best
since 1999. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 7% in 2020, and the
small-cap Russell 2000 increased by more than 18%. All of those
year-end returns obscure the indexes’ tumble into bear markets in March,
however, not to mention their vertiginous rallies since. More on 2020's
standout performers below. As for
today's New Year’s Eve trading, it was a quiet day. The S&P 500
closed up 0.6% after an afternoon rally from a slight loss, while the Dow
added 0.6%. The Nasdaq ticked up 0.1% and the Russell 2000 closed down
about 0.3%. The only
major data release today was jobless claims for the latest week. Both
initial claims for unemployment benefits and continuing claims were
better than economists had anticipated. December jobs numbers land on Jan. 8. On the
Covid-19 front, the faster-spreading variant of the virus has been discovered
in more places in the U.S. including California. As long as it doesn’t appear
to be any more deadly and doesn’t show resistance to existing vaccines, that
won’t concern the market much. In
Washington, the Senate is on break until Jan. 3. Even after it returns, it
doesn't appear likely that the effort to increase the size of direct
payments to individuals in the latest stimulus bill to $2,000 from $600 will
get very far. Georgia voters head to the polls on Jan. 5 to decide which
party will have a narrow majority in the Senate next year. Thus ends an
unforgettable year for investors, with hefty gains despite tremendous
volatility. Thank you
for reading Review & Preview in
2020! We wish you all a happy and healthy 2021. It's the 100th
year of Barron's, and we're kicking off
our centennial celebration with a look back at how the world has changed
for investors since 1921. Find the
piece here. Watch
Barron's TV show on Fox
Business Fridays at 10 p.m. or 11:30 p.m. ET;
Saturdays at 10 a.m. or 11:30 a.m.; or Sundays at 7 a.m., 10 a.m., or 11:30
a.m. This week, an interview with Ian
Bremmer, president and founder of
Eurasia Group;
what comes next for the stock market's stars and stinkers; and financial
resolutions for 2021. |
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DJIA: +0.65% to 30,606.48 The Hot
Stock: Western
Digital +11.8% Best Sector:
Utilities +1.5% |
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