US: Stocks end banner year on downbeat note

[NEW YORK] New York stocks lost ground Friday (Dec 31) in the final trading session of 2021, a year in which major indices posted huge gains and set multiple records despite the pandemic.

The broad-based S&P 500 had its best December in over a decade, and scored a third straight year of double-digit gains.

The index notched records 70 times this year, second only to 1954, said analyst Sam Stovall. "2021 was a very good year."

The S&P 500 gained 27.1 percent in the year, while the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average won 18.7 percent.

High-flying tech stocks pushed the Nasdaq up 21.4 percent.

For the last day of the year investors had little news to trade on, the main focus being the potential impact of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of Covid-19.

While the latest strain appears to cause less severe illness, the surge in cases has led to widespread absences of employees, causing flights and events to be canceled.

The S&P dropped 0.3 per cent to end at 4,766.18, the Dow lost nearly 0.2 per cent to close at 36,338.3, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.6 per cent to 15,644.97.

"It's nice to close the year in a quiet fashion because it's been one of the most volatile Decembers we have had in quite some time," said Art Hogan of National Securities.

AFP