– By Julie Young
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 30,606.48 on Thursday with a gain of 196.92 points or 0.65%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,756.07 for a gain of 24.03 points or 0.64%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 12,888.28 for a gain of 18.28 points or 0.14%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 22.75 for a loss of 0.020 points or -0.088%.
For the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.44%, the Dow Jones gained 1.34% and the Nasdaq gained 0.55%. For the month, the Nasdaq gained approximately 6%, the S&P 500 gained 3.7% and the Dow Jones gained around 3.15%. For the year, the Nasdaq gained 43.6%, the S&P 500 gained 16.26% and the Dow Jones gained 7.25%.
Thursday’s market movers
U.S. stocks closed higher on the last trading day of 2020, with indexes reaching record highs. Investors were pleased with the Treasury’s quick actions to partner with the Internal Revenue Service and get the $600 stimulus checks dispensed. A vote in the Senate on stimulus checks was blocked again as the Republicans continue to position themselves against a fast passage for $2,000 stimulus. Senate majority leader Republican Mitch McConnell is calling the $2,000 effort “socialism for the rich,” suggesting that Republicans are more in favor of targeted programs and also calling for deeper spending analysis. McConnell is backing a bill that could include $2,000 stimulus checks along with repealing a Section 230 liability protection for online platforms and election security investigations.
2020/2021
In 2020, Covid-19 certainly permeated the headlines. Fintech Zoom takes a look at some quick highlights to remember from the entire year, including:
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First case of Coronavirus in January.
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President Trump avoids impeachment.
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Trump declares a national emergency in March and kicks off the beginning of new social distancing measures along with other Covid-19 new normal extremes.
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$2 trillion stimulus package passed by the Senate on March 25.
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Protests abound for black rights, causing major concerns in May.
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Joe Biden wins the presidential race.
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The Food and Drug Administration approves Remdesivir as well as a Covid vaccine from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA).
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Trump signs a second stimulus package valued at $2.3 trillion.
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The leading tech companies face major scrutiny over their practices, with antitrust lawsuits a major concern for Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL).
In a look forward, The Balance highlights some of the key economic data and factors investors will be watching in 2021, including:
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Unemployment expected to decline to 5% in 2021.
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Core inflation predicted to be 1.8% in 2021.
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U.S. GDP growth estimated to be -2.4% in 2020 and 4.2% 2021.
2020 across the board
Across the board, the following stocks led gains for the year:
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Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) +102.75%
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Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) +35.87%
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PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) +114.42%
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Amazon (AMZN) +77.91%
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FedEx (FDX) +74.89%
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Qualcomm (QCOM) +72.48%
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United Parcel Service (UPS) +46.23%
Small-cap indexes 2020
In small caps, the Russell 2000 gained 18.36%. The S&P 600 gained approximately 10%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index gained approximately 25%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index had a return of approximately -9%.
Other notable indexes 2020
Other notable index reports included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index with a gain of 11.6%; the S&P 100 up 18.6%; the Nasdaq 100 up 47.6%; the Russell 3000 up 18.1%; the Russell 1000 up 18.7%; the Wilshire 5000 up 19.8%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index down approximately 9%.
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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.