U.S. Stocks End Worst Year Since Financial Crisis
U.S. stocks ended the worst year since the financial crisis with a narrow gain in thin pre-holiday trading. Treasuries rose to a 10-month high.
The S&P 500 finished a choppy session higher and the Nasdaq Composite capped its first four-day advance since August amid optimism that President Donald Trump will move toward a trade deal with China. The advance trimmed the worst December rout for the S&P 500 since 1931 to 9.2 percent. That monthly rout capped a 6.2 percent slide in the year, the biggest of the record bull market.
Stocks around the world limped into the end of a dismal year that’s seen bear markets in equities from Japan to Germany. Europe’s main stock gauge fell 13 percent drop in the year -- the biggest since 2008. The 10-year Treasury yield slid to 2.68 percent, the lowest since February. The dollar edged lower as a government shutdown continued, while the yen climbed to a four-month high.
In commodities, crude slumped to its first annual loss since 2015, completing a reversal that saw it drop from a four-year high set just three months ago. Natural gas futures slid on Friday below $3 for the first time since September, giving the front-month contract its worst December since 1991. Gold barreled into 2019 near a six-month high on haven demand.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-30/asian-stocks-may-get-relief-after-trump-xi-talk-markets-wrap?srnd=markets-vp
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