Wall Street Year-End Review. What was the performance of the main US stock indices — Nasdaq, S&P 500, Dow Jones & Co. — in 2025? Which stocks and sectors emerged as top and bottom performers?
There are only a few hours left until the final trading session of the year on Wall Street, and the verdict for 2025 for the major US equity indices is now clear.
2025 proved to be a year of strong buying across US stock markets, despite concerns over the economic and market impact of tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump.
Expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts provided significant support to Wall Street, although investors had to wait several months — nine in total — before those expectations materialised.
The Federal Reserve delivered three interest rate cuts in 2025, despite repeated criticism and pressure from Donald Trump. The easing cycle began in September and concluded with the final policy meeting of the year on December 10, whose minutes have just been released.
Wall Street 2025 Scorecard: Who Outperformed Between the Nasdaq Composite, Nasdaq 100, S&P 500 and Dow Jones
Below is the year-to-date (YTD) performance of the main US stock indices, measured from the start of 2025:
- The Nasdaq Composite surged by 21.3%.
- The Nasdaq 100 advanced 21.2%.
- The S&P 500 gained 17.3%.
- The New York Stock Exchange Composite rose by approximately 16%.
- The Russell 2000, the benchmark index for US small-cap stocks, gained 12.1%.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 13.7%.
Wall Street’s Best and Worst Performing Stocks in 2025
The top-performing stocks on Wall Street in 2025 were:
- Western Digital: up approximately 291%.
- Micron Technology: +248%.
- Seagate Technology: +225%.
The worst-performing stocks on Wall Street in 2025 were:
- The Trade Desk: -67.6%.
- Fiserv: -67.1%.
- Alexandria Real Estate Equities: -49.3%.
Wall Street’s Best and Worst Sectors in 2025
Leading the best-performing sectors, with just one trading session left before the close of 2025, is the communication services sector, which posted gains of approximately 33% over the year.
Following behind:
- Information Technology: +24% since the beginning of 2025.
- Industrials: +18.7%.
- Financials: +14.2% in 2025.
- Utilities: +13.4%.
- Health Care: +13.2% year to date.
- Materials: +9.5%.
- Consumer Discretionary: +6.2%.
- Energy: +5.5% since the start of the year.
- Consumer Staples: approximately +2%.
- Real Estate: +0.7%.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2025-12-31 10:17:21. Original title: Wall Street, come è andata a Nasdaq, S&P 500 e Dow Jones nel 2025? Le azioni e i settori migliori e peggiori
