Market Notches Best Year Since 2009

On Tuesday, the market opened up and started to climb, but at 11 a.m., it began to decline back down to the opening price level. The market appeared like it was deteriorating on the last trading day of the year, and then it suddenly popped in the late afternoon! The Nasdaq gained +12 points in 45 minutes. The bulls won the day and set a positive tone for the beginning of January.

The Nasdaq gained +22 points (+0.54%), the S&P rose +7 points (+0.40%), and the Dow closed up 72 points (+0.44%). Volume was higher than Monday's volume. Advancers beat decliners by a ratio of 1.6 to 1.

2013 was a big year for the stock market, as low interest rates shifted money into stocks and away from interest bearing accounts. Also, the effect of quantitative easing was a major driver for the market. On the year, the Nasdaq gained +38%, the S&P +29%, and the Dow 26%. The market registered its best yearly gains of the last 4 years, and the best gain since the market-bottoming year of 2009.