Markets mixed as 2016 comes to a close

Markets were mixed on the last trading day of the year on Friday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent. Nevertheless, it rose 9.5 percent for 2016 as a whole.

The STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.3 percent on Friday but finished the year down 1.2 percent.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2 percent for a gain of 2.3 percent in 2016.

“We seem to run into resistance around these levels, which isn’t unusual given the gains we’ve seen recently,” said Steve Sosnick, equity-risk manager at Timber Hill/Interactive Brokers Group.

Indeed, Bob Pisani at CNBC thinks that investors already “seem wildly optimistic”.

“A genuine boost in consumer spending and even a modest corporate tax cut could have a significant impact on earnings. But the market is already anticipating that,” said Pisani.