Wall Street ends worst year since 2008 financial crisis
by James Langford
| December 31, 2018 12:17 PM
| Updated Dec 31, 2018, 04:05 PM
Wall Street's moderate gains in New Year's Eve trading were nowhere near enough to avert the worst year for American stocks since the financial crisis.
The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.6 percent in 2018, its first annual drop since a 2.2 percent decrease in 2015 but a mere fraction of the 34 percent slide in 2008. The broader S&P 500 tumbled 6.2 percent, its first year in the red since a 0.7 percent slip in 2015, while the Nasdaq is down 3.9 percent. Both indexes lost more than a third of their value in 2008.
The dour performance, which undercuts one of President Trump's favorite economic talking points during his first year in the White House, reflects concern about Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, fallout from tariffs the administration has posed on allies and rivals alike, and speculation that growth will slow in 2019.
"We know the economy is likely to slow because you have the waning effects of tax cuts, you have the impact of higher rates already, and you have trade friction," said Fred Cannon, director of research at New York brokerage Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. Still, "the Fed and most people looking at the U.S. economy don't believe it's going to fall into a recession."
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/business/wall-street-winds-down-worst-year-since-2008-financial-crisis