Why 2012 was a good year for the stock market (2024)

FAQs

Why 2012 was a good year for the stock market? ›

In addition, markets were boosted in 2012 by the Federal Reserve's decision to continue supporting the economy with loose monetary policies, as well as the European Union finally getting its arms around a long-running debt crisis.

But stock prices soared in 1995--arguably, the best year in history. A number of major money managers made switches out of equities into government bonds in early 1996--fearing high stock prices and a market sell off. But 1996 was again a strong year for most of the market.

Great Recession, however, took the largest toll on the Dow. In 1931, the index lost 52.67 percent of its value. Dow Jones Industrial Average index (DJIA) is one of the most important stock market indices worldwide. It was created in 1896 by Charles Dow and Edward Jones.

There are two general periods where stocks realized a negative return over a 10-year span: one during the Great Depression in the 1930s and the other during the Great Recession in 2008.

Historically, the United States Stock Market Index reached an all time high of 5672.45 in July of 2024. United States Stock Market Index - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on September 14 of 2024.

From its peak in September 1929, the Dow fell 89 percent, bottoming in the summer of 1932 at 41.22, the lowest closing level of the 20th century. The six largest single-day point declines for the Dow all occurred in the first six months of 2020 as investors grappled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The year featured slow, steady gains and low volatility, as the stock market overcame a world of worries, sometimes in surprising fashion. For the year, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 11.5% through Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 6% and the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 13.6%.

Stock market returns since 2012

This is a return on investment of 431.68%, or 14.40% per year.

Is a market crash coming in 2024? ›

While many experts are making predictions about whether the market will crash in 2024 or how severe the next downturn will be, it's impossible to say with certainty where stock prices will be in the short term. However, the market's long-term performance is all but guaranteed to be positive.

Again, you technically don't lose any money in the stock market unless you sell your investments. If you simply hold your stocks until the market rebounds, your stocks should regain their value. The key is to ensure you're investing in strong stocks that have the ability to weather market turbulence.

Looking back, Dow Jones had hit the 10,000 mark on March 29, 1999 amid 'irrational exuberance' of the tech bubble, but a year later when the dot-com bubble busted, it sent the Dow nearly 30 percent down by September 2001.

The statistic shows the best years of the Dow Jones Industrial Average index from 1897 to 2023. The best year in the history of the index was 1915, when the index value increased by 81.66 percent to close at 99.15 points compared to 54.58 in the previous year.

The 1950s and 1990s are neck and neck for the best decades investors have ever seen. But if you started saving in those decades your results weren't nearly as good as other starting points because the returns following those decades were underwhelming.

Some of the most significant stock market crashes in U.S. history include the crash in 1929 that preceded the Great Depression, the crash in 1987, known as Black Monday, the dotcom bubble crash in 2001, the 2008 crash related to the Financial Crisis, and the 2020 crash following the outbreak of COVID.

The 1950s and 1990s are neck and neck for the best decades investors have ever seen. But if you started saving in those decades your results weren't nearly as good as other starting points because the returns following those decades were underwhelming.

The stock market closed out a remarkable 2009 with a loss as investors bet the improving economy will lead the government to pull back on its stimulus measures. But stocks still managed their best year since 2003 as they recovered from the financial crisis and recession.

Share prices rose to unprecedented heights. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased six-fold from sixty-three in August 1921 to 381 in September 1929. After prices peaked, economist Irving Fisher proclaimed, “stock prices have reached 'what looks like a permanently high plateau. '”