Wall Street closed lower on Friday, the final trading day of 2021 on muted trading volume due to festive season. All three major stock indexes ended in negative territory. However, U.S. stock markets had a wonderful 2021. For weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly, these three indexes posted solid returns.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.2% to close at 36,338.30. Notably, 22 components of the 30-stock index ended in red while 8 in green. The major loser of the blue-chip index was Microsoft Corp. (MSFT Quick QuoteMSFT - Free Report) declining 0.9%. Microsoft carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 15,644.97, sliding 0.6% due to weak performance by large-cap technology stocks. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 dropped 0.3% to end at 4,7666.18. Six out of eleven sectors of the benchmark index closed in positive territory while five in red. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) tumbled 1.4% while the Consumer Staple Select Sector SPR (XLP) gained 0.7%.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.6% to 17.22. A total of 7.6  billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 10.55 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.39-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.18-to-1 ratio favored decliners issues.

Yearly Roundup

Wall Street had an impressive 2021 after an astonishing bull run in 2020.Both years were marred by novel coronavirus. In 2021, the three major stock indexes – the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite – rallied 18.7%, 26.9% and 21.4%, respectively.

Availability of a number of COVID-19 vaccine, government’s effort for nationwide vaccination and continuation of fiscal and monetary stimulus resulted in earlier-than-expected reopening of the U.S. economy. Economic growth and corporate profit skyrocketed in 2021 owing to better-than-expected U.S. economic recovery.

Half-Yearly Roundup

The three major stock indexes – the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite – appreciated 5.3%, 10.9% and 7.9%, respectively, in the second-half of 2021. This marked a highly commendable achievement as the U.S. economy faced mounting inflationary pressure in this period.

The prolonged supply-chain disruption globally due to coronavirus-led devastations, acute shortage of labor and massive pent-up demand by Americans supported by unprecedented level of personal savings resulted in mounting inflationary pressure. Moreover, resurgence of various coronavirus variant like Delta, Delta+ and Omicron, made the situation worse.

Quarterly Roundup

The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite – advanced 7.4%, 10.7% and 8.3%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2021. The termination of fiscal stimulus, soaring inflation and resurgence of coronavirus had failed to derail Wall Street’s northbound journey.

Monthly Roundup

The three major stock indexes – the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite – climbed 5.4%, 4.4% and 0.7%, respectively, in December. The bull run continued despite the Fed’s decision to speed up tapering of quantitative easing program and central bank’s indication for a possible interest rate hike in the first half of 2022. The resurgence of Omicron variant of COVID-19 was a concern too.

Weekly Roundup

The Dow and the S&P 500 gained 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.1%. The Dow and the S&P 500 rose as concerns on Omicron faded out to a large extent while the Nasdaq Composite fell marginally as the yield on 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note climbed to 1.512%.