Stock Market Today: Stocks Close the Door on a Tumultuous 2022
Stocks finished the year far from where they started it, with the equities market wrapping up its worst annual showing since 2008.
Stocks finished the year far from where they started it. After hitting record highs in January, stocks exited December with a whimper, serving up their worst annual performance since the Great Financial Crisis year of 2008.
Markets are closed on Monday in observance of New Year's Day, and so volume was naturally razor-thin ahead of the long holiday weekend. As for those market participants who did stick around, plenty of them were willing to sell at lower and lower prices, perhaps partaking in some last-minute tax-loss harvesting.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The broad S&P 500 Index suffered the biggest decline of the main benchmarks today, shedding 0.3% to 3,839. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.2% to 33,147, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.1% to 10,466. For all of 2022, the Nasdaq finished down 33.1% on a price basis, the S&P 500 was off 19.4%, and the Dow shed 8.8% before dividends.
But stocks were by no means alone in having a miserable 2022. The bond market closed out the year with historic losses and cryptocurrencies crumbled. Bitcoin, for example, shed about two-thirds of its value in 2022. And although oil prices finished the year modestly higher, U.S. crude futures are still down roughly 35% from their June highs of more than $122 per barrel. On Friday, they settled at $80.26 a barrel.
Where to Find Quality Stocks in 2023
It's fair to say that investors had too much to contend with this year, including a Fed intent on whipping inflation with aggressive interest rate hikes and a slowing economy on the cusp of recession. These same concerns will continue to shape markets in the early going of 2023, with all the attendant headaches investors have come to know too well.
So what does this mean for investors in search of the best stocks to buy?
"A popular piece of advice among Wall Street strategists now is to resist the bargain-basement appeal of the most beaten-up stocks and focus instead on high-quality shares," writes Anne Kates Smith, executive editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
High-quality value-oriented firms, like those found in the energy, financials and industrial sectors – and, yes, even some select small-cap stocks – stand out for their return potential in the new year. After all, 2022 has left us no shortage of market laggards set to generate outsized returns over the next 12 months.
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
When Does a Nest Egg Become a Ticking Tax Bomb?
Retirement savers with big bucks in traditional IRAs and pretax 401(k)s could face huge tax bills when RMDs kick in. One potential solution? A Roth 401(k).
By Dan Flanagan, CPA/PFS, CFP®, AEP® Published
-
Medicare or Medicare Advantage: Which Is Right for You?
From overall costs to availability of care, here's what to know about the differences between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans.
By Paola Bianchi Delp Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Hit Fresh Highs on Bank Earnings, Econ News
Strong corporate profits and benign economic data once again sent equities to record levels.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Slip on Hot Inflation Print, Layoff News
Economic data continues to complicate expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Hit Record High Ahead of CPI Report
Equities caught a bid ahead of the all-important September reading on consumer price inflation.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Tech Leads Stocks to Broad-Based Gains
Risk appetite came back with a vengeance as oil and bonds took a breather.
By Dan Burrows Last updated
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Rise After Strong September Jobs Report
Stocks were choppy Thursday as investors took in a higher-than-expected rise in jobless claims and strong growth in the services sector.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Strong September Jobs Report Puts Soft Landing in Sight: What the Experts Are Saying
Jobs Report A blowout reading on nonfarm payrolls takes another jumbo-sized cut to interest rates off the table.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Drop Ahead of September Jobs Report
Stocks were choppy Thursday as investors took in a higher-than-expected rise in jobless claims and strong growth in the services sector.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Waver on Resilient Employment Data
A private reading on payrolls had markets rethinking rate-cut bets just days ahead of the monthly jobs report.
By Dan Burrows Published