NEW YORK — The S&P 500 closed out 2023 with a gain of more than 24% and the Dow endedup near a record high, as reducing inflation, a durable economy and the possibility of lower interest rates buoyed financiers, especially in the last 2 months of the year.
Stocks closed Friday with modest losses.
The S&P 500 slipped 13.52 points, or 0.3%, to 4,769.83. The standard index still published a unusual ninth successive week of gains and is simply 0.6% shy of an all-time high set in January of 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 20.56 points, or 0.1%, to 37,689.54 after setting a record Thursday.
The Nasdaq slipped 83.78 points, or 0.6%, to 15,011.35, however that was hardly a imperfection on an yearly gain of more than 43%, its finest efficiency consideringthat 2020.
For most of the year, gains in the morecomprehensive market were driven mainly by 7 stocks — Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla. Dubbed the Magnificent 7, they accounted for about two-thirds of the gains in the S&P 500 this year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Nvidia lead the group with a gain of about 239%, driven by the mania surrounding synthetic intelligence.
A strong rally in November and December significant a huge mental shift for financiers, stated Quincy Krosby, chief international strategist at LPL Financial, since it went beyond the huge innovation business. The Russell 2000 index of smallersized business leapt more than 20% over the 2 months and endedup 2023 with a 15.1% gain after falling 21.6% in 2022.
“It was broad involvement in the market that enhanced and verified gains for smallersized business stocks that were especially crucial,” Krosby stated.
Investors in the U.S. came into this year bearing th