A soft finish to 2024 still left stocks with a second straight stellar year. The S&P 500 logged a 23.3% gain, which follows a 24% rise in 2023. The combined gains of more than 53% was the largest two-year percentage jump for the index since year-end 1998,

Wall Street strategists see further gains for the S&P 500 in 2025 as a broadening of earnings growth and a resilient US economy continue to drive the bull market rally.

The S&P 500 posted back-to-back annual gains of more than 20 percent for the first time since the late 1990s. Analysts expect stocks to continue rising in 2025.

The Dow ended more than 400 points lower on Monday, clawing back some of the deepest losses from earlier in the day.

U.S. stock indexes are starting 2025 with gains, putting Wall Street on track to break a four-day losing streak that dimmed the end of its stellar 2024. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% at the open of trading Thursday following its longest losing streak since early September.