The books are closed on 2012, and despite election-year uncertainties, a slowdown in corporate earnings, continuing economic woes in Europe and unresolved fiscal cliff squabbling in Washington, the stock market managed to deliver a more than respectable return. The S&P 500 gained more than 13 percent on the year, even as investors swung repeatedly between “risk on” and “risk off” modes that had them alternately seeking to boost gains or find safety amid global volatility.
Here, in the third installment in our series on 2012 winners and losers, a rundown of some key stock market moves for the year.
13.4
Percentage gain on the year for the S&P 500 index
16
Total return, including dividends, for the S&P 500 in 2012
7.3
Percentage gain on the year for the Dow Jones industrial average
15.9
Percentage gain on the year for the Nasdaq Composite Index
14.6
Percentage gain on the year for the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks
$2.1 trillion
Paper gains made by investors on the year, according to Wilshire Associates calculations reported by USA Today
295
Percentage gain on the year for the Venezuelan stock exchange, the highest of any global market
187.80
Percentage gain on the year for shares of homebuilder PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM), the best of any stock in the S&P 500 index
108.63
Percentage gain on the year for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), the best of any stock in the Dow Jones industrial average
61.17
Percentage loss on the year for the for-profit education company Apollo Group (NASDAQ:APOL), the worst of any stock in the S&P 500
44.68
Percentage loss on the year for Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), the worst of any stock in the Dow Jones industrial average
S&P 500 Winners and Losers Winners % Change Losers % Change PulteGroup (PHM) 187.80 Apollo Group (APOL) -61.17 Sprint Nextel (S) 142.31 Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) -55.56 Whirlpool (WHR) 114.44 Best Buy (BBY) -49.29 Expedia (EXPE) 111.75 Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -44.68 Bank of America (BAC) 108.63 J.C. Penney (JCP) -43.93 Lennar (LEN) 96.79 Pitney Bowes (PBI) -42.61 Marathon Petroleum (MPC) 89.25 Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) -38.16 Tesoro (TSO) 88.57 Tyco International (TYC) -37.38 Seagate Technology (STX) 85.85 Allegheny Technologies (ATI) -36.49 Gilead Sciences (GILD) 79.45 Mondelez Int'l (MDLZ) -31.83 Source: Standard & Poor's