Wall Street wraps up worst year since financial crisis — RT Business News
Major US indices have had a tough 2022, posting their biggest annual losses since 2008
U.S. stocks fell on Friday as investors made their final trades in what was the worst year for the market since the 2008 financial crisis amid growing recession fears.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 280 points, or 0.8%, on the last trading day of 2022, and ended down more than 9% for the year. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% on Friday and lost nearly 20% on the year, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4% on Friday. The high-tech index plunged more than 30% over the year.
All three major indexes ended what was their worst year since 2008, as soaring inflation and aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve sapped growth and weighed on investor confidence.
Inflation in the United States hit its highest level in four decades this year, with consumer prices rising more than 9% this summer in annual terms. The inflation rate slowed towards the end of the year. However, experts expect it to remain above pre-pandemic levels and believe it will take a few years for price growth to return to 2019 levels.
Meanwhile, although some investors expect next year to herald a market rally, many others are warning that stocks could hit new lows in 2023.
« We’re sort of stuck in neutral right now, because there are more unanswered questions than there are known entities, » Rebecca Felton, senior market strategist at Riverfront Investment Group, told CNBC.
“We have a lot to do on this next earnings season, when we think about the pressures that will exist on the margins”, she explained.
“There are a lot of questions heading into the new year, but we will certainly be happy to see 2022 come to an end,” Felton added.
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