by Stephen Culp and Echo Wang
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange finished close to its records on Friday, the last day of 2021, marking the second year of recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dow Jones index lost -0.16%, or 59.78 points, to 36,338.3 points.
The larger S & P-500 lost 12.55 points, or -0.26%, to 4,766.18 points.
The Nasdaq Composite fell by 96.59 points (-0.61%) to 15,644.97 points.
Businesses, consumers and the wider economy thrived in 2021 as they found their way in an ever-changing landscape, including a tumultuous transfer of power marked by the Capitol Riot, the novel variants of the coronavirus. , labor shortages, ultra-accommodating monetary and fiscal policies, problems in supply chains, exploding demand and the resulting spike in prices.
“What strikes us this year, of all the negatives, is the resilience of US businesses,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial. “In a sea of uncertainties and higher prices, you cannot help but be impressed with the agility and adaptability of American companies, which have posted 45% profit growth in a very long year. difficult.”
Indeed, the results of the S&P 500 companies have largely exceeded analysts’ estimates to post annual growth in the first three quarters of the year of 52.8%, 96.3% and 42.6%, respectively, according to data from Refinitiv, which currently expects annual fourth-quarter earnings growth for U.S. companies of 22.3%.
The energy, real estate and microchips sectors, coupled with the economic recovery and booming demand, were among the best performers of 2021.
The coronavirus pandemic, which emerged in early 2020, has caused the strongest and fastest economic contraction in history and continues to weigh on travel-related values.
Early data suggests, however, that the Omicron variant, which caused a sharp spike in global infections, is less virulent than its predecessors, and economic data increasingly suggests a return to normal, two years after the first cases of COVID -19 have been reported.
Among the top 11 sectors of the S&P 500, the Consumer Staples sector saw the largest increase in Friday’s session, while communications services suffered the largest decline.
(French version Camille Raynaud)
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