Wall Street opens lower as stocks end worst year since 2008

() — Wall Street opened lower this Friday, December 30 as it says goodbye to 2022.

The Dow fell 152 points, or 0.5%, on Friday, the last trading day of the year. Over the course of the year, the Dow Jones has fallen more than 9%, its worst year since 2008.

The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1% on Friday, near its lowest level since July 2020. The tech index has taken a hit this year, falling 34%.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a shocked supply chain and another year of covid-19 turned markets upside down this year. Inflation spiked around the world and central banks raised rates at a record pace to prevent price rises from spiraling out of control. China, the world’s second-largest economy, has periodically locked down entire cities to contain the pandemic. Power supplies were cut off, but recession fears caused demand to fall in the second half of the year anyway. Intense storms and climate change also disrupted the markets.

Stocks had a miserable year, but bonds fared even worse. Inflation, massive rate hikes and a super-strong dollar made bonds unattractive to investors. The return of the S&P US Treasury Bond Index was -10.7% in 2022.