The S&P 500 ended 2022 with its largest percentage loss since its near 38% plunge during the global financial crisis in 2008. Markets in 2022 were stung by a series of cascading concerns over rising interest rates to curb red-hot inflation, recession fears, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a resurgence of COVID-19 in China. While all three major U.S. equity indices ended the year with their first annual declines since 2018, the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials snapped their three-quarter losing streaks with solid fourth quarter gains.