Stocks fall in 2022’s final trading session as Wall Street wraps up worst year since 2008
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 280 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4%.
Friday marks the last day of trading in what has been a rough year for the stock. A volatile bear market, persistent inflation and aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve have hit growth and technology stocks. These factors also weighed on investor sentiment.
All three major averages are headed for their worst year since 2008 and are set to snap a three-year winning streak. The Dow fell 8.58% through Thursday, his 2022 all-time high, while the S&P and tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 19.24% and he 33.03% respectively.
As the calendar year draws to a close, some investors believe the pain isn’t over yet and expect the bear market to continue until a recession hits or the Fed turns around. Some predict the stock will hit new lows before rebounding in late 2023.
“Right now we remain neutral because there are more unanswered questions than known entities.. Rebecca Felton, senior market strategist at Riverfront Investment Group, said in a “Squawk Box”: said like this.
“There are many questions heading into the new year, but I am happy that 2022 is over,” Felton added.
Despite yearly losses, the Dow and S&P 500 are on pace to record a three-quarter losing streak. But the tech-heavy Nasdaq has posted four consecutive negative quarters for the first time since 2001.
Communications services stocks in the S&P 500 are down more than 40% year-to-date, and consumer discretionary stocks are down 37.4%, while energy, the only positive sector in the Large Cap Index, surged nearly 58%.
Next week will see a slight slate of economic data highlighted by the nonfarm payrolls report set for 6 January.
— Gabriel Cortez contributed to the report
Correction: The charts in this article have been updated to reflect the correct year-to-date decline of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.