S&P 500 ends 2019 up 28% | Recession-proof? | Trade deal awaits Jan. 15 signing

S&P 500 had its best year since 2013 thanks in part to Federal Reserve rate cuts.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE TUE, DEC 31, 2019 EVENING BRIEF AS OF TUE, DEC 31, 2019 • 04:01 ET DJIA 28535.66 +0.26% +73.52 S&P 500 3230.39 +0.28% +9.10 NASDAQ 8972.60 +0.30% +26.61   Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 293.65 +2.13 +0.73% MSFT 157.70 +0.11 +0.07% CSCO 47.96 +0.37 +0.78% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG GE 11.16 +0.08 +0.72% AMD 45.86 +0.34 +0.75% BAC 35.22 +0.07 +0.20% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG AMD 45.86 +0.34 +0.75% AAPL 293.65 +2.13 +0.73% MSFT 157.70 +0.11 +0.07% EDITOR'S NOTE Here we are at the end of 2019 and the many hazards that investors had feared never fully materialized.   We thought a global economic slowdown,  trade war salvos, an inverted yield curve and potential bumbling by the Federal Reserve would keep stocks in the tank, but instead we had the best year for the S&P 500 since 2013.   The Fed, as it turns out, steered the U.S. economy away from the malaise that has been crimping global economic growth. And its three rate cuts - which were hardly enough for a Fed-bashing president - helped push the major indexes to new highs.   Stocks were little changed on the last trading day of the year. Still, we enter 2020 with 2019's fears pushed to the sidelines. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will sign a "phase one" trade deal on Jan. 15 - a move that at least means we may not see further escalation in the trade battle anytime soon.   "We climbed a wall of worry,"  said Ned Davis, founder of Ned Davis Research, "from a growth slowdown and profits flat at best, trade concerns, potential impeachment, and high valuations bothering investors — including myself."  Happy New Year!     Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world. Al Lewis | CNBC Markets Editor @tellittoal TOP NEWS  S&P 500 scores 2019 gain of nearly 30% The stock market boomed in 2019. Here's how it happened Trump says he will sign 'phase one' China trade deal on Jan. 15 at the White House Oil surges 35% in 2019 and hedge funds are betting on more gains next year Don't look now, but Goldman Sachs is saying the economy is nearly recession-proof Google veterans: The company has become 'unrecognizable' Amazon will break ground on HQ2 soon — here's what it will look like Fugitive ex-Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn says he fled Japan to escape 'injustice' National Football League television viewership increases 5% for 2019 regular season Bloomberg firm Hawkfish falsely told potential hires it would be the 'primary' tech platform for the DNC     TOP VIDEO Watch CNBC's full interview with Peter Navarro   SPECIAL REPORTS These stocks were the duds of the decade, according to investing pros Apple stock is vulnerable to a 40% drop, tech investor Paul Meeks warns   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2019 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS