US stocks end in red
But make best annual gains for four years
FAANG stocks rise
The shine came off the US stock rally on Friday, but only a bit, as Wall Street closed out trading for 2017 but benchmarks still ended the year with the best gains since 2013.
All three indices made annual gains, which were their best since 2013.
The Dow Jones closed over 118 points down at 24,719 - up 2% on the month of December and up an impressive 25.08% on the year.
The S&P 500 closed nearly 14 % lower at 2,673 - a 19.42% rise on the year, while the tech heavy Nasdaq index lost over 46 points at 6,903.
That was up over 28% on the year showing the strength of the tech stocks and the big FAANG companies - Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), up 55% on the year, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), up 47% Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), up 57%, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), up 55% and Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), up 33%, stocks in 2017 and underlining the scale of the overall market surge since the election of President Donald Trump.
But the biggest gainer on the Dow Jones was a traditional stalwart - the airline maker Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) which saw shares fly 90% higher in the year.
The worst performer on the Dow Jones was General Electric Co (NYSE:GE), which shed 45%. It was followed by IBM (NYSE:IBM), which shed 7%.
Nevertheless, the year has been a record breaking one for US markets. All three indexes ended in positive territory in December, with the S&P and Dow enjoying their 9th straight monthly gain.
The Nasdaq notched its sixth straight annual gain, its longest streak since the one between 1975 and 1980.
In Toronto, the TSX lost 12.82 to 16,209.
Wall Street set to end the year on dour note (Reuters) – Losses in technology and financial stocks weighed on Wall Street on the last trading day of 2017, in what has been a banner year for U.S. shares. Major indexes hit a series of ... https://t.co/Q5iQcGkSgU #business #ai #iot pic.twitter.com/nCJGcnVp1w
— MoneyHealthFinance (@MoneyHealthFina) 29 December 2017
MID-SESSION
Wall Street benchmarks turned lower at mid-session, having made a mixed start as the market heads towards the 2017 close.
The Dow Jones shed over 20 points to 24,816, while the S&P 500 shed 2.98 at 2,684. The tech heavy Nasdaq shed over 15 points to 6,934. Tech and energy stocks were the laggers.
In Toronto, the TSX shed nearly 34 points to stand at 16,188.
Among the notable movers was Atara Biotherapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ATRA), which surged in New York over 16% to US$17.80 after the key Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave it clearance to start two Phase 3 clinical studies to evaluate tabelecleucel in patients with rituximab-refractory Epstein-Barr virus associated post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder.
Koss Corp (NASDAQ:KOSS) zoomed up over 94% to US$2.80.
Elsewhere, MassRoots Inc (OTCMKTS: MSRT) jumped over 21% to US$0.63 as it created a subsidiary dedicated to developing blockchain-based solutions for the cannabis industry.
On the losing side, LiNiu Technology Group (NASDAQ: LINU) dropped almost 29% to US$2.22 after it reported first half 2017 results. The company posted a net loss of US$5.7 million.
In London earlier, FTSE 100 closed down 0.85% higher at 7,68 - a new record high.
OPEN
Wall Street shares started mixed on Friday - the last trading day of 2017.
The Dow Jones continued the climb though, having reached its 71st record high close on Thursday.
The Dow is up 15 points at the time of writing, at 24,848, while the S&P 500 is up 1.20 at 2,688.
The tech heavy Nasdaq is down four points at 6,946.
The broader based S&P 500 is up 1.24 at 2,688.
US crude, or West Texas Intermediate, is up 0.60%, at around US$60.19 a barrel.
In Toronto, the TSX is up 2.70 points at 16,224.
On the Dow Jones, a notable loser was tech titan Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), whose shares slid 0.62% in early deals to US$170.02 as it apologised for slowing down older iPhones and slashed the price of replacement batteries.
The company also said it will issue software in 2018 so that customers can monitor the health of their phone's battery.
Wall Street Looks to End 2017 With Fresh Records; Europe Has Best Run In 4 Years - https://t.co/8pyfPOiOtB https://t.co/G2k8LZHKlr
— New York Investor (@WallStreetShark) December 29, 2017