What a year 2017 has been. From politics that many thought they would only see in the movies, to a stock market that has just been on fire, 2017 has many moments we could cover, but we'll focus on just a few here.
First, the markets just plowed ahead all year long. Rising interest rates, terrorist attacks, and Washington drama just couldn't pull the market down at all. The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow 30 all added double digits on the year. All year long you had analysts calling for the markets to fall. Even some of the biggest investors on the planet warned of impending collapse by year end, yet still nothing happened. This marks 9 years of higher prices so at some point this train has to come to an end, but for 2017 it was full steam ahead.
M&A was a big focus in 2017 and will likely be the same in 2018. Disney (NYSE: DIS) buying Twenty First Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA), AT&T (NYSE: T) and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), and so many more smaller deals has investors trying to predict what will be next. With lower interest rates and now tax reform help for corporations, 2018 could shape up even better than 2017.
And finally, there is tax reform. Late in 2017 tax reform was passed, which left so many Americans absolutely confused about how it would affect them in 2018 and beyond. As for the markets, they cheered it on. Tax reform is predicted to stimulate the economy and markets, though many wonder if the new, lower tax rates just delayed some selling until 2018, when income taxes may be lower for investors. There are many that think that if there is any hint of market pullback that many will lock in their gains at the new, lower rates.