Dow, S&P 500 fall in '15; Nasdaq up 5.7%

Adam Shell | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 2016 stock market outlook What can investors expect in 2016? Will the bulls ring true or will fed rate hikes yield a bear market? Adam Shell forecasts what 2016 could bring for Wall Street.

U.S. stocks closed out the final trading day of 2015 with both the Dow and S&P 500 suffering their first year of negative returns since 2008 when the financial crisis was in full swing.

Both stock benchmarks were on the bubble of a positive year at the start of Thursday's session, with the Dow needing a sizable, 219-point gain to hit break even, while the S&P 500 came into the session a few points above its 2014 close.

But it wasn't to be, as all three major benchmarks sank from the opening bell, trimmed their losses and then accelerated downward to close at session lows. The Nasdaq was a bright spot, gaining nearly 6% for 2015 despite dropping more than 1% for the day.

The small-cap Russell 2000 index was hammered in 2015, falling 5.7% and down 12.3% from its peak.

Oil was the biggest loser by far, with the crude price on U.S. markets diving 30.5% for the year.

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Numbers for Thursday and 2015:

• The Dow lost 1%, shedding 179 points to end at 17,425.03. Loss for the year: 2.2%.

• The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, ending at 2043.94 on the 19-point loss. Loss for the year: 0.7%.

• The Nasdaq dropped 1.2% to 5007.41 on its 58-point loss. Gain for the year: 5.7%.

And benchmarks have fallen from their record highs by these amounts:

• Dow: 4.8%

• S&P 500: 4.1%

• Nasdaq: 4.1%

Wall Street appeared resigned to another ho-hum day to cap what has been an up-and-down year for stocks but which has added up to the stock market finishing the year pretty much where it started.

It was a volatile year on Wall Street. After hitting record highs in May, the stock market suffered its first correction, or drop of 10% or more, back in August. And while the market rebounded from its summer lows, all three of the major U.S. indexes finished 2015 at least 4% off their all-time peaks.

Stocks were held back in 2015 by uncertainty surrounding interest rate policy, as the Federal Reserve hiked borrowing costs in mid-December for the first time in nearly a decade. Stocks were also hurt by slowing growth in China, the negative fallout on sales and earnings of U.S. multinationals due to a stronger dollar and the steep losses in the energy sector, which sent the energy sector of the S&P 500 down about 24% in 2015.

Gas should remain a bargain in 2016 https://t.co/7a2caTqsfc via @usatoday — Paul Davidson (@PDavidsonusat) December 31, 2015

Geopolitical threats around the globe and a resurgence in terror attacks in the later stages of 2015 also weighed on investor sentiment. Stock valuations rose above historical averages following the stock market's more than tripling in value off of the lows back in March 2009.

Wall Street was hoping for a late-year rally, but market momentum fizzled out as oil prices continued to tumble.

Stocks in Europe also finished the year on a negative note, with the broad Stoxx Europe 600 off 0.5%. Shares were mixed in Asia on the final day of trading, with the Nikkei 225 in Japan closing up 0.3% and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong up 0.2%. Shares of the Shanghai composite in mainland China fell 0.9%.

Adam Shell on Twitter: @adamshell.