US stocks close at record highs to end tumultuous 2020

• US stocks went out with a bang on Thursday, the last trading day of 2020.
• The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both closed at record highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq had its best year since 2009, gaining 43% in 2020.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

US stocks closed higher on Thursday to finish 2020.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both closed at record highs, while the Nasdaq had its best year since 2009, gaining 43%.

The S&P 500 gained 16% in 2020, while the Dow gained 7%.

Here's where US indexes stood after the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 3,756.07, up 0.64%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 30,606.48, up 0.65% (196.92 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 12,888.28, up 0.14%

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Bitcoin surged nearly 300% in 2020. Investors who want to gain exposure to the coin through an exchange-traded fund may be able to next year if an application from VanEck filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission proves successful.

Stocks may be vulnerable to a pullback in the first quarter, CFRA's Sam Stovall said in a note to clients on Wednesday.

"Domestic equity markets appear to us to have over-discounted a second-half 2021 economic and EPS recovery ... and as a result may be vulnerable to a Q1 pullback," the chief investment strategist said.

Oil prices inched higher. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.06%, to $48.43 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, was up 0.17%, to $51.72 per barrel.

Gold was up 0.54%, to $1,903.60 per ounce.

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