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The Market Sum | INVESTOPEDIA

Insight after the bell

By Caleb Silver, Editor in Chief

Monday's Headlines

1. A volatile 2018 comes to a close on a high note

Markets Close

Dow
23,327.46 +1.15%

S&P
2,506.85 +0.85%

Nasdaq
6,635.28 +0.77%

VIX
25.42 -10.30%

INV Anxiety Index
106.36 High Anxiety

US 10-Yr Yield
2.686 -1.83%

We made it!

Stocks closed out 2018 on a high note as all major markets finished in the green. It was a good way to end a rough month, which will go on record as the worst December since the Great Depression. 2018 will also be the worst year in a decade for stocks, which have enjoyed a remarkable run since the global economy was rescued from the clutches of the Financial Crisis by extraordinary government intervention in 2009. As monetary policy 'normalizes' - at least in the U.S. - we are starting to see the effects on stocks, bonds and all asset classes. We are also a much more globalized market than ever before. No country is an island, metaphorically speaking.

Here's how we end the year across major markets and assets:

YEAR TO DATE

DJIA: -5.63%

S&P 500: -7.01%

Nasdaq: -3.88%

Russell 2000: -12.18%

10 Year U.S Treasury: +11.68

Crude Oil: -32.32%

U.S. Dollar +4.31

Gold: -3.79%

Bitcoin: -76.99%

Since we are scorekeeping, here is the best and worst performing stocks in the S&P 500 in 2018:

Best:

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +73.3

Abiomed (ABMD) +69.8

Fortinet (FTNT) +61.0%

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) +55.9%

TripAdvisor (TRIP) +55.4%

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) +46.8%

Red Hat (RHT) +45.4%

Keysight Technologies (KEYS) +44.5%

O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY) +42.2%

Boston Scientific (BSX) +39.9%

Worst:

Coty (COTY) -67.4%

L Brands (LB) -57.7%

Mohawk Industries (MHK) -57.5%

General Electric (GE) -57%

Invesco (IVZ) -54.7%

Newfield Exploration (NFX) -54.6%

Perrigo (PRGO) -54.2%

Western Digital (WDC) -53.8%

Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) -53.2%

Cimarex Energy (EXEC) -49.8%

Today is a good day for you to look at your own performance as investor. Ask yourself these questions:

· What were my goals at the beginning of the year?

· Did I achieve them? What were my wins and losses?

· What did I learn?

· Has my relationship with money and investing changed? If so, how?

· How am I positioned for 2019?

· What will I do if my investments drop another 20 percent?

· What will I do if my investments rise 20 percent?

· What are my goals for 2019?

These financial resolutions are a good place to start if you are looking to make some.

This blog post from Nick Maggiulli is really insightful, too. Once you've read it, ask yourself if you are a 'kind', or 'hostile' investor.

Quick Recap:

2018 has been a remarkable year. From market highs to volatile corrections, sentiment shifts throughout asset classes, tariff wars and government shutdowns, the long and winding road to Brexit, the devastating impacts of climate change, moderating growth of China and emerging markets, the fall of once and former giants like GE and Sears, the collapse of cryptocurrency prices, the rise of the cannabis industry in the public markets, the continued influence of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, and so much more.

We've summed up the top terms on Investopedia as measured by reader interest for you here, in case you missed it.

And here are our predictions for 2019: No science, here…just editor intuition.

Final note for the year…

We started writing this newsletter in mid-September hoping to find another way to communicate with our readers on a more personal and direct level. (A good buddy of mine likes to remind me that the stock market summarily turned south as soon we relaunched Market Sum.) For that, we apologize, although we know our pen is not that mighty...We've been overwhelmed by the feedback from our readers around the world about this afternoon note we share with you. Nothing is more rewarding than that feedback and knowing that what we do connects with you in some way. It's humbling and we consider it a remarkable privilege. We'll do our best to keep improving this note and everything we do at Investopedia.

We wish you a healthy, safe and joyous 2019.

Caleb Silver

Editor in Chief

Investopedia