- US stocks fell on the last trading day of 2022, ending what has been a tough year for investors.
- The S&P 500 closed out its worst year since 2008, falling 20%.
- Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 9% in 2022, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 33%.
US stocks fell on Friday, ending the last trading day of 2022 with a thud and capping off a terrible year for investors as high inflation, high interest rates, and growing concerns of a recession weighed on markets.
The major indexes experienced their worst year since 2008, when the S&P 500 fell 38%. At Friday's close, the S&P 500 was down 20% for the year, the Dow was off 9%, while the Nasdaq plunged 33%.
Investors will be looking for relief in 2023 in the form of easing inflation, a more friendly Federal Reserve, and the potential for the economy to sidestep a recession.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Friday:
- S&P 500: 3,839.50, down 0.25%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,147.25, down 0.22% (73.55 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 10,466.48, down 0.11%
Here's what else happened today:
- FTX customer assets worth more than $3.5 billion have been temporarily seized by Bahamian authorities, according to the country's markets regulator.
- America's housing market is still gloomy as ever as mortgage rates turned higher again, according to Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates are set to break a six-week declining streak, with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rising by 15 basis points this week to 6.42% as of Thursday.
- Warren Buffett has overtaken Jeff Bezos on the rich list this year, and now threatens to unseat Bill Gates as the second-wealthiest American after Elon Musk.
- Fundstrat's Tom Lee highlighted what he sees as the single biggest risk to his bullish 2023 forecast, which calls for the S&P 500 to rally more than 20%.
- Cardano, Solana, and Internet Computer were among the top 10 worst performing cryptocurrencies in 2022, a year riddled with fraud, scams, and spectacular implosions.
In commodities, bonds and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.51% to $80.37 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped 3.03% to $85.99.
- Gold rose 0.10% to $1,827.90 per ounce.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose five basis points to 3.88%.
- Bitcoin fell 0.36% to $16,545, while ether dropped 0.08% to $1,196.