Weak Final Day Wraps Up Strong Year

Dow ends 2021 up 21%, while S&P rose 26%

By Newser Editors and Wire Services

Posted Dec 31, 2021 3:55 PM CST

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Year of Strong Gains Wraps Up on a Down Day — A large Christmas tree stands outside the New York Stock Exchange last month. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Wall Street ended 2021 on a weak note Friday but still managed to end the year with big gains. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3%. It wound up with a yearly gain of 26.9%, the AP reports, nearly as big as its gain two years ago—just before the pandemic set in. The S&P 500 notched its latest record high on Wednesday, its 70th of the year. Company profits came in strong this year as the economy reopened, but the fast-spreading omicron variant and the looming end of the Federal Reserve’s easy-money policies are overhangs for investors going into the new year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 60 points Friday, or 0.2%, to end near 36,338, per MarketWatch. For the year, the Dow was up 18.7%. The Nasdaq posted a 21.4% gain for 2021 as it closed off 0.6% on Friday. (Read more stock market stories.)