S&P 500 gains nearly 27% in 2021 | Dow posts 5-month win streak

S&P 500 gains nearly 27% in 2021 | Dow posts 5-month win streak | Fed in focus for 2022

FRI, DEC 31, 2021

EVENING BRIEF

AS OF FRI, DEC 31, 2021 • 04:52 ET

DJIA		36338.30
		-0.16%	-59.78

S&P 500		4766.18
		-0.26%	-12.55

NASDAQ		15644.97
		-0.61%	-96.59

Most Active

DOW
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	177.57	-0.63	-0.35%
MSFT	336.32	-3.00	-0.88%
INTC	51.50	-0.24	-0.46%

S&P 500
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	177.57	-0.63	-0.35%
F	20.77	+0.30	+1.47%
AMD	143.90	-1.25	-0.86%

NASDAQ
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	177.57	-0.63	-0.35%
AMD	143.90	-1.25	-0.86%
NVDA	294.11	-1.75	-0.59%

EDITOR'S NOTE

U.S. stocks dipped Friday in the final trading session of 2021 to close out a banner year in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The three major averages all closed lower on the day, but finished December higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its fifth consecutive winning month, while the Nasdaq Composite saw its sixth straight monthly gain.

For the year, the indexes each notched double-digit gains. The S&P 500 returned a whopping 26.89% for its third winning year in a row. The Dow gained 18.73% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 21.4% in 2021, also notching three-year winning streaks.

"Stocks truly had a remarkable year in 2021—not only in terms of the robust gains generated
but also in the lack of any significant pullbacks for the S&P 500 in a year of an ongoing
pandemic," Keith Lerner, co-chief investment officer at Truist, said in a note Friday.

The S&P 500 notched 70 record closes this year, the second-highest annual total behind 1995′s 77 closing highs. The benchmark index posted a record close at least once a month in 2021.

All 11 sectors in the S&P 500 finished 2021 higher, led by energy and real estate with more than 40% gains each. Devon Energy was the top-performing stock in the index this year, returning 178.6%.

Looking forward, many market participants anticipate tougher conditions for stocks in 2022 as the Federal Reserve wanes off its pandemic-era easy monetary policy. Still, strategists see gains ahead in the new year.

"While we don't expect 2022 performance to be as strong as 2021, we do expect the equity markets to continue trending higher," Wells Fargo Investment Institute's Chris Haverland said in a note.