Stocks dip on NYE, but soar in 2021

Markets closed mixed on the final day of 2021, but soared for the year. On Friday, the Nasdaq slipped 0.61%, the Dow 0.16%, the S&P 0.26% and the TSX shed 0.34 as stocks faded into the close amid light holiday trading. However, it was a better story for 2021. The S&P rallied 26.9% for the year, beating the Dow’s 18.7% and even the Nasdaq at 21.4%. Meanwhile, the TSX soared 21.7%.

On Wall Street Friday, tech and financials lagged, while industrials were mixed. Notable gainers on Friday included Ulta Beauty up 1.87%, Ford at 1.47%, Pfizer up 1.11% and Domino’s Pizza as well as Home Depot both up 1.24%. In contrast, Affirm Holdings slid 3.19%, Beyond Meat sank 3.31% and Twitter lost 2.79%. Moves either way were modest across the board. Devon Energy, Microsoft and Las Vegas Sands were among the top gainers of the year on Wall Street. Penn National, Disney and Boeing ranked among the biggest losers.

The TSX enjoyed its best yearly gain since the Great Recession of 2009. In Toronto, notable gainers on Dec. 31 included Stelco jumping 5.86%, AutoCanada roaring 2.5%, and  Shawcor gaining 3.15%. Losing ground were the weed stocks, such as Canopy down 3%, Blackberry slipping 2.39% and Lightspeed which skidded 4.77%. Energy and real estate were in the green, but tech was deep in the red. Though WTI crude was down 1.8% for the day at $75.50, it jumped over 55% in 2021. In contrast, gold added 0.9% to $1,830 for the day, but slipped 3.41% in a choppy year. The Canadian dollar climbed to $0.79, up 1% for December. Bitcoin dropped 2% to $46,000 during Friday. All eyes will be on the U.S. 10-year yield which hovered around 1.51%.

Have a safe and happy new year!

💅 Ulta Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance Inc. (ULTA-Q) +1.87%
🚗 Ford Motor (F-N) +1.47%
💉 Pfizer Inc (PFE-N) +1.11%
🍕 Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (DPZ-N) +1.24%
🛠 Home Depot (HD-N) +1.24%
💾 Affirm Holdings (AFRM-Q) -3.19%
🥩 Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND-Q) -3.31%
🐦 Twitter, Inc (TWTR-N) -2.79%
⛓ Stelco Holdings Inc. (STLC-T) +5.86%
🚘 AutoCanada Inc. (ACQ-T) +2.5%
🛢 Shawcor Ltd. (A) (SCL-T) +3.15%
🌿 Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED-T) -3%
📱 BlackBerry (BB-T) -2.39%
💾 Lightspeed Commerce Inc (LSPD-T) -4.77%
🅱 Bitcoin Cash (CRYPTO:BCH) -2%