Traders
on
the
floor
of
the
New
York
Stock
Exchange,
Aug.
4,
2022.
Source:
NYSE
Stock
futures
were
flat
in
overnight
trading
Monday
as
the
market
is
poised
to
kick
off
the
new
year
following
a
surprisingly
strong
2023
that
saw
the
S&P
500
rally
24%.
Futures
on
the
Dow
Jones
Industrial
Average
were
up
just
18
points.
S&P
500
futures
and
Nasdaq
100
futures
traded
near
the
flatline.
Markets
were
closed
Monday
during
New
Year’s
Day.
The
stock
market
finished
2023
with
a
bang
as
the
S&P
500
climbed
for
nine
weeks
in
a
row
to
end
the
year,
notching
its
best
win
streak
since
2004.
Risk
assets
enjoyed
a
big
relief
rally
as
the
economy
remained
resilient
and
inflation
cooled,
while
the
Federal
Reserve
signaled
an
end
to
rate
hikes.
The
market
also
endured
a
regional
banking
crisis
as
well
as
wars
in
Ukraine
and
the
Middle
East.
Technology
shares,
especially
mega-cap
stocks,
led
the
2023
advance
with
Apple
soaring
48%,
Microsoft
surging
nearly
57%
and
Nvidia
skyrocketing
239%.
The
tech-heavy
Nasdaq
Composite
ended
the
year
up
43.4%
for
its
best
year
since
2020.
The
blue-chip
Dow
Jones
Industrial
Average
logged
a
13.7%
gain
and
notched
a
new
record
during
2023.
After
a
stellar
2023,
Wall
Street
strategists
see
much
lower
returns
for
stocks
in
the
new
year,
according
to
the
CNBC
PRO
exclusive
Market
Strategist
Survey.
The
top
14
strategists
from
major
firms
expect
that
the S&P
500 will
end
2024
at
4,881,
only
about
2.3%
above
Friday’s
close
of
4,769.83.
Some
are
warning
about
a
weaker
economy
and
more
tepid
consumer
spending,
which
could
translate
into
slower
earnings
growth
for
Corporate
America.
“The
biggest
actual
risk
facing
equities isn’t the
Fed
or
[European
Central
Bank]
not
cutting
as
much
as
anticipated but
instead
that [earnings
per
share]
suffers
a
larger
than
expected
decline amid
an environment
of
cooler
growth and waning
price
power,”
Adam
Crisafulli,
founder
of
Vital
Knowledge,
said
in
a
note.
