After a good start last January, equities tanked and didn't turn positive for the year until its last few months. If 2011 really is shaping up to be a reprise of 2010, the market is poised for a fall, according to Jeffrey Saut, chief market strategist at Raymond James.
Wall Street started the new year with a robust jump, helped by encouraging corporate and economic news that pushed the broad market to a 28-month high. The S&P 500 has now reclaimed nearly 90% of its losses from the bear-market bottom of March 2009.
After putting up solid gains this year, the case for the stock market in 2011 is more of the same. And when the Fed finally raises short-term rates, one pro says, the smart traders will be those who jump on the opportunity to do some serious bargain-hunting. [Video]
Stocks are closing out 2010 with a double-digit bang. Veteran NYSE trader Teddy Weisberg says those gains coming amid gut-wrenching volatility should be no surprise, and he points to three important lessons from the market's behavior that will help guide investors in 2011. [Video]
Wall Street's consensus sees the S&P 500 tacking on an 11% gain over the next 12 months -- with lots of ups and downs along the way. That has us inclined to play defense, with an eye toward bargain stocks paying generous, sustainable dividends. Here are our top 11 picks for 2011.
The big winners of 2010 scored returns far above those of U.S. markets by piggybacking on China's ferocious growth. But rebounding American equities look mighty impressive next to the year's real losers: the victims of the eurozone debt crisis.
Trading came to a quiet end on the Thursday before Christmas as stocks closed mostly lower on especially light volume. A spate of economic reports was similarly mixed, with jobless claims and income improving a bit, but home sales and durable goods falling a little short.