Like every roller coaster, the S&P 500 shot up and plunged down, causing nausea and elation, and then pulled back into the station exactly where it started.
EXACTLY.
Consider that for a moment. Here we are just before the ball drops in Times Square, in a year full of unprecedented volatility, and the large-cap index posted the smallest year-over-year change in at last 40 years, if not ever. The index ended down 0.04 points, or 0.003%.
Other indexes were mixed. The Dow rose 5.5% for the year, after being saved by a 12% rise in the fourth quarter. The Nasdaq was down 1.8%. The Russell 2000 fell 5.5% and the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index fell 1.3% .
Among Dow stocks, McDonald’s (MCD) ended the year with the largest gain, jumping 31%. Bank of America (BAC) fell the furthest, dropping 58%.
Another interesting factoid: 30-year Treasuries beat every stock in the Dow. The 30-year notes rose 35% from start to finish; 10-year notes were up 17% to close for the first time since at least 1977 with a yield below 2%.
All this in a year when a major ratings agency for the first time called into question the full faith and credit of the United States government.
Now, thank goodness, we get to start that holiday where we drink. Happy New Year everyone.
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