There was no shortage of market-moving events in Q4. The stock market opened the quarter with a slow start in October, but the outcome of the presidential election triggered a broad rally in November. Though the rally faded as the year ended, Q4 capped a remarkable run for U.S. investors, as the S&P 500 delivered 20+% in back-to-back years. As noted in the chart below, this run is reminiscent of the 4-year stretch from 1995 to 1998, and like the late 1990s, large-cap technology stocks played a major role in the S&P 500’s gains.
