Shaking off a woeful performance last year, the stock market soared to record highs in 2023.
The S&P 500 — the index that most people’s 401(k)’s track — climbed nearly 25% this year, as of Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt 13%; while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose a staggering 44%.
Looking ahead, a central question looms over Wall Street: Will the good times keep rolling?
The stellar performance owed in large part to optimism about the prospects for a “soft landing,” in which inflation comes down to normal levels while the economy avoids a recession, prominent experts said in end-of-year reports. Investor enthusiasm about AI also helped drive returns, they added.
Analysts differ significantly in their outlooks for 2024, however, while some fear a potential downturn could bludgeon markets and others expect slow but steady growth that will lift stock prices.
The U.S. economy achieved some major successes this year, emboldening investors and rallying markets.
Inflation continued to fall from a peak of about 9% last summer, reaching within a percentage point of the Fed’s target rate. While hiring slowed lately, it remained robust.
All the while, economic growth surged. The U.S. economy grew at an annualized pace of 4.9% over three months ending in September, more than doubling growth in the previous quarter, a government report in October showed.
R&I ~ MJM
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Article URL : https://abcnews.go.com/Business/stock-market-boomed-year-happen-2024/story?id=105937497