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| The eight-year old Bull Market |
But wait, there's more! The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed the S&P 500, rising 25.1% during that same span. Not to be outdone, the Nasdaq outperformed all other major indexes, rising 28.2% (and up in eleven of the twelve months of the year). 2017 was a GREAT year to be in stocks. And in a vote of confidence in the oil markets, NYMEX WTI prices closed over the $60/bbl mark for the first time since mid-2015 in the final days of 2017. Speculative positions in Bitcoin were even more rewarded, with Bitcoin rising 1,221% year-on-year.
2017 was full of geopolitical uncertainty, with equity markets largely held hostage by the spectre of something the GOP called "Tax Reform." In a step towards a concrete accomplishment for President Trump, the corporate tax rate was reduced and the individual tax code simplified in a final vote by Congress and the White House just prior to Christmas.
Quick recap of the US stock market in 2017: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/31/business/A-Big-Year-for-the-Stock-Market.html
