US equity markets pared their best annual gains since 2013, falling in the final half hour of trading for the year amid muted activity - Dow down -118-points or -0.48%, falling late in the session and erasing what would have been a sixth consecutive weekly gain for the index. However, the Dow logged its ninth straight monthly rise (+1.84%) - the longest such streak since 1959 - and ninth consecutive quarterly rise (+10.33%) - the longest such streak since 1997. Boeing was the best performed index constituent for the year with an +89.4% rise followed by Caterpillar (+69.9%), Visa (+46.1%), Apple (+46.1%) and Walmart (+42.8%). General Electric Co was the worst performed Dow component with a -44.78% annual decline. The broader S&P500 shed -0.52%, with 10 of 11 sectors finishing in the red but still posted its ninth consecutive positive month (+0.98%) - the longest such run since 1983 - and ninth straight positive quarter (+6.12%) - the longest streak since 2013. The S&P500 recorded 62 record closing highs in the year. It was also the first year ever that the S&P had positive total returns (price plus dividends) in every month. The technology-centric NASDAQ fell -0.67% but locked in its sixth straight monthly (+0.43%) and quarterly (+6.23%) rise. The Nasdaq logged 72 record closing highs for the year. The tale of the tape for the FAANG stocks for 2017 reads Facebook up +53.38% for 2017, Amazon +55.96%, Apple +46.11%, Netflix +55.06% and Google-parent Alphabet +35.58%. Nonetheless it was a stellar year for the US equity markets, with the Dow finishing with an annual gain of 25.1% after logging a 71 record closing highs during the year. The S&P500 gained +19.4% for the year, with the technology sector (up almost +34%) the best performer and telecom stocks (down ~13%) the worst. The Nasdaq was the star performer with a +28.2% yearly rise - its sixth consecutive annual gain and the longest such streak since 1975-to-1980. All three benchmark indices finished with their best annual performance since 2013.
