| By now you've probably heard that the S&P 500's back-to-back annual gains amounted to the best two-year advance since the late 1990s. But finding an example of a worse end to a year than the one that just occurred requires going back even further in time.
To at least 1952, when data first becomes available for comparable returns. Since then, it's never fallen more than the 2.6% it lost from Christmas to year-end, data compiled by Bespoke Investment Group show. The closing drop marks only the 12th time the benchmark gauge fell by more than 1% over that span. It was also the longest streak of losses to close a year since 1966, per Bloomberg data.  The selloff in equities was part of the larger amping of turbulence that descended on markets at year's end, following Jerome Powell's hawkish utterances after the Federal Reserve's Dec. 18 meeting. Bond yields are up three straight weeks, Bitcoin was briefly down almost 15% from its all-time high and credit spreads have staged a moderate widening. The ominous close is but a blip in an otherwise spectacular year that saw the index gain 24%, besting the forecast of even Wall Street's biggest bulls. Nearly every top strategist tracked by Bloomberg revised their S&P 500 targets higher at least once in 2024 as they scrambled to keep up with equities' dizzying gains. So, does a weak end portend misfortunes ahead? Not quite. In most instances, Bespoke found that the S&P 500 was up in the year after a decline of more than 1%. The benchmark index's median performance after those 11 down years, in fact, has seen a roughly 12% gain. While a litany of uncertainties are in store for 2025 from inflation to tariffs and immigration, there is still a sense of optimism that Corporate America will lift markets higher, especially with a new president installed in the White House. —Isabelle Lee | 
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