U.S. Markets Open Report: Dow Ends The Year Below 18K Milestone, '2014 A Good Year For America's Economy, Stocks'

Tags: U.S. stock markets; U.S. Stocks; Dow; nasdaq

BY jakewriter Dec 31, 2014 06:31 PM EST

U.S. Markets Open Report: Dow Ends The Year Below 18K

New York (Kdramastars) - U.S. markets closed higher than expected on the last trading day of the year. Tuesday's trade closed down on Wall Street after global indexes took a beating and Japan's Nikkei index closed for New Year Holiday. U.S. futures were trading higher ahead of the opening bell but there was little momentum to edge shares up on light volume.

According to USA Today, "On the final day of trading Wednesday, the Dow fell 160 points, or 0.9%, to close 2014 at 17,823.07. The S&P 500 dropped 21.45, or 1%, to 2058.90. The NASDAQ declined 41.39, or 0.9%, to 4736.05." The U.S. economy grew at a moderate pace of 5%, while the November jobs data claimed 321,000 jobs for the month. With the economy picking up steam during 2014, a moderate recovery is in the offing, say analysts.

For the first time since 1990s, U.S. markets closed with double-digit percentage gains for the third consecutive year. Stocks added 11.4% during 2014, suggesting that the recession that roiled the financial markets after the subprime-mortgage housing crisis could have less impact in 2015.

USA Today reports, "Stocks have been able to overcome a series of obstacles, including the end of the Fed's market-friendly bond-buying program, a 50% plunge in oil prices, a return of Cold War rhetoric involving Russia, the Ebola virus scare, and a bad-weather inspired early-year economic malaise in the U.S. dubbed "freeze-onomics."

Crude oil dropped to its worst decline in a year since the economic downturn in 2008. Bond prices were higher and energy shares were the lowest for the year after oil collapsed 46% in 2014.

Gary Thayer, Wells Fargo Advisors chief macro strategist claimed 2014 was a good year for both America's economy and the stock market. This comes at a time as global markets have not picked up as much as analysts expected.

The slight decline in stocks and indexes didn't spook investors as they saw the positive side of things after oil prices below $55 a barrel and the Russian economy's crisis on world markets and the destabilization of the Ruble; there's an old saying that market performance is likely to improve when the 'wall of worry' is climbed.