Reporter’s Notebook: Strong year for Wall Street despite some setbacks

Global Business

Despite some down days on Wall Street, it has been a strong year for U.S. stocks. CCTV America’s Shraysi Tandon reported on market fluctuations throughout the year.

2014 has been a volatile year all over the world, particularly on Wall Street, with oil prices dropping to numbers not seen in five years. But despite the shakeup in some stocks, both the Dow Jones and Standard & Poor’s 500 index enjoyed a strong year.

Reporter’s Notebook: Strong year for Wall Street despite some setbacks

Despite some down days on Wall Street, it has been a strong year for U.S. stocks. CCTV America’s Shraysi Tandon reported on market fluctuations throughout the year

Investors across the U.S. enjoyed a bull market in 2014, largely due to the strong economic data.

Encouraging figures in jobs, trade, and housing all helped boost the Dow Jones and S&P 500 index.

“It’s been a remarkable several years, not just 2014. But I think we’ve doubled since the end of 2011, we had a correction in 2011, but it’s been really great,” Stephen Leeb, founder of the Leeb Group said. “It has also been really great for bonds as well. Commodities have suffered, but in general, the two biggest asset classes, stocks and bonds have done extremely well.”

The blue-chip Dow hit a closing high over 30 times this year. The S&P 500 index has more than tripled since March 2009.

“The Federal Reserve poured a lot of money into the banking system. Some of that money is starting to find its way into the real economy,” Leeb said.

While technology, banking and pharmaceutical stocks enjoyed rallies this year, commodities did not share the same fate. Oil in particular, was the hardest hit, as crude oil prices plunged to levels not seen since 2009.

Some experts are confident that oil will regain its footing in 2015, but the drop will continue hurt U.S. oil producers in the long term.

“I do think that we’ll get a upturn in oil as we get towards the end of 2015, I don’t think that these low oil prices will be with us forever,” Leeb said. “But they are going to have, I would guess, a permanent effect on the fracking industry and that’s not so good.”

Many analysts expect the U.S. stock market will continue solid gains well in to 2015, but the U.S. Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates next year will determine just how high the markets will really climb.