US stocks fall as Wall Street wraps up its worst year since 2008

NEW YORK: US stocks dipped on Friday to end a tumultuous year as market participants remain concerned about the economic and profitability landscape, reported Xinhua.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 73.55 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 33,147.25. The S&P 500 sank 9.78 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 3,839.5. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 11.60 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 10,466.48.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with real estate and utilities down 1 per cent and 0.96 per cent, respectively, leading the laggards. Energy rose 0.76 per cent, the lone gaining group.

Friday marked the final trading day of 2022, a brutal year for equities as aggressive Federal Reserve policy tightening to curb inflation triggered worries about a potential US recession.

All the three major benchmarks suffered their worst year since 2008. The Dow dropped 8.8 per cent in 2022, while the S&P 500 tanked 19.4 per cent and the technology-heavy Nasdaq slumped 33.1 per cent.

Despite the sharp losses, analysts cautioned the market’s pain may be far from over.

“With pressure on corporate profits for the next few quarters, equity markets could slip in the near term,“ UBS analysts said in a recent note.

In the first half of 2023, the S&P 500 is expected to re-test the lows of 2022, but a pivot from the Fed could drive an asset recovery later in the year, strategists at JP Morgan Global Research said in the team’s year-ahead outlook. – Bernama