Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500 Go Out on Top

Concept art of New Year&#039;s Eve with a clock about to strike 12, fireworks and champagne — (Image credit: Getty Images)

As a trying and tragic 2020 comes to a close, the stock market provided one of the year's few silver linings.

Several of the major indices finished New Year's Eve with small gains, and two closed out the year at all-time highs. That capped off spectacular rallies from 2020's bear-market bottom and a year of improbably strong performance.

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Investors had plenty to consider as they traded on New Year's Eve: a pandemic that remains uncontained as vaccines roll out nationwide; a Georgia run-off election that will determine control of the Senate; declining but still-high unemployment claims; and the possibility of more stimulus measures in 2021.

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Stocks finished the day mostly mixed, but gains from the likes of Intel (INTC, +2.2%) and McDonald's (MCD, +1.5%) helped the major blue-chip indices close out the year with small gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.7% higher to a record 30,606, marking a 7.3% gain for 2020.
The S&P 500, up 0.6% to a new all-time high of 3,756, finished the year 16.3% in the black.
The Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.1% to 12,888, capping a massive 43.6% rally that marked its best annual performance since 2009.
The Russell 2000 finished 0.3% lower to 1,974, but that still represented an 18.4% climb across 2020.

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With that, we wish you a happy and prosperous new year! But will the market acquiesce?

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Most research houses are calling for continued stock gains in 2021, and Kiplinger's own forecast is for "high-single-digit to low-double-digit percentages."

The market should be helped by a recovery in corporate earnings: FactSet senior earnings analyst John Butters says analysts are predicting a 21.8% jump in S&P 500 profits for 2021. "If 21.8% is the actual growth rate for the year, it will mark the largest annual earnings growth rate for the index since CY 2010 (39.6%)," he says.

The best way to take the reins of any opportunities in 2021, of course, is to be armed with the best investments. Check out all our market forecasts and stock and fund picks in Kiplinger's 2021 Investing Outlook.

Whether you're looking for stocks, exchange-traded funds or mutual funds, you'll find a plethora of ideas to help you build your wealth in 2021 … and far beyond.

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Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of WealthUp, a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of people of all ages. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.

Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism.

You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley.