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For the U.S. stock market, 2011 was a long wild ride to nowhere.

The broad S&P 500 endured huge daily swings but a year of drama left the index almost where it started. It lost a mere 0.003 percent, closest to unchanged since 1947, according to Standard & Poor's.


"They overwhelmed the fundamentals. I didn't think the euro- zone crisis would have been so protracted as it has become."

The Dow industrials gained 5.5 percent for the year as investors sought safety in large-cap, dividend-paying stocks. The Nasdaq lost 1.8 percent.

Investors took out their ire on the financials, which were the weakest group this year, falling more than 18 percent. Concerns about exposure to Europe and the threat of a renewed financial crisis hurt those shares.

Bank of America Corp was the Dow's worst performer, tumbling 58.3 percent this year, and it was also one of the S&P 500's biggest losers. JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM - NewsJPM.N) slumped 21.6 percent in 2011


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wall-S...29550.html?x=0