Stock Market Signs Off On A Weak Note In 2015

After what may be described as turbulent trading year, the U.S. stock market ended 2015 on a limp with the Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ all closing on a low.

The year was a volatile one for stocks with all three major indexes hitting record highs, but also suffering dramatic lows.

And when the closing bell rang on December 31st, the Dow and S&P were in the red for the year.

Much of the blame for the tumble has been attributed to cheaper crude oil and its impact on energy stocks.

That said, the Nasdaq had gains for the year, led by tech stocks.

According to Reuters market editor David Gaffen, “It’s really been a middling year for the market. The S&P will end pretty much unchanged and so we saw some decent out performance from a couple of areas. Most specifically healthcare, and a lot of consumer discretionary stocks. A lot of people this year talking about the FANG stocks that ended up being the big winners of the year. So, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google kind of being the market leaders.”

Initial claims for jobless benefits rose sharply during last week heading into the New Year.

However, claims have remained below for the key 300,000 threshold for 43 consecutive weeks. European stocks ended the day lower.