The markets were headed for a higher close Wednesday, but overall, it was a very bad year to own stocks, any stocks — indeed, one of the worst ever. The Dow Jones industrial average will end the year down more than 34 percent, the worst year for the index since 1931, and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index more than 38 percent. Blue-chips like General Motors, Citigroup and Alcoa lost more than 70 percent of their value.
All told, about $7 trillion of shareholders’ wealth — the gains of the last six years — will be wiped out in a year marked by violent market swings.
But what is striking is not just the magnitude of the declines, staggering as they are, but also their breadth. All but 2 of the 30 Dow industrials, Wal-Mart and McDonalds, fell by more than 11 percent.