The S&P 500 (SPX) ended 2025 with a 16.65% return, although the benchmark index closed lower during the last four trading days of the year.
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That’s only happened twice since 1950, according to SubuTrade. On both occasions, in 1966 and 2024, the S&P 500 closed higher one week later with an average return of 1.85%. The index had an even better average return of 4.87% one month later and traded higher both times.
It was a fantastic year for memory and storage companies, which got a boost from the AI boom and surging demand for data center infrastructure. Within the top five highest-returning S&P 500 stocks this year, memory and storage stocks took home the first four spots. SanDisk (SNDK) was the top performer with a staggering 561% return, followed by Western Digital (WDC) at 268%, Micron Technology (MU) at 226%, and Seagate Technology (STX) at 218%. Robinhood (HOOD), which was added to the index earlier this year, came in at fifth place with an 186% return.
The top losers of the S&P 500 were led by the advertising, real estate, and consumer sectors, which were hit hard by President Trump’s tariff policies and elevated mortgage rates. The Trade Desk (TTD) was the worst-performing constituent with a loss of 67%, followed by a 49% drawdown from both Alexandria Real Estate (ARE) and Deckers Outdoor (DECK).
Meanwhile, the last initial jobless claims report of the year came in better-than-expected, with 199,000 claims for the week ended December 27, below the consensus estimate of 218,000 and falling from 214,000 during the prior week. Continuing jobless claims were 1.866 million, below the estimate of 1.902 million and falling from 1.923 million.
However, Citi warned that claims data tends to be distorted around holiday periods and that incoming data in January would provide a more complete picture of the labor market. In addition, Citi expects the unemployment rate to rise to 4.7% from 4.6%, driven by higher labor participation across the U.S.
Elsewhere, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) fell to a year-to-date low of 6.15% in another signal that housing affordability is making a comeback in the U.S. Earlier this week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced that pending home sales rose by 3.3% in November to their highest level since February 2023.
“Homebuyer momentum is building,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “The data shows the strongest performance of the year after accounting for seasonal factors, and the best performance in nearly three years, dating back to February 2023.”
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed with a 0.74% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) fell by 0.84%.
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