Dow Closes Below 18,000; S&P 500 Up 12.7% in 2014

Stocks end the day down as the Dow falls below 18,000 and the S&P 500 pulls back from its recent record high. This year, overall, stocks have performed much better than expected. The S&P 500 is up 12.7% (15.4% including dividends) which is almost double what stock market strategists predicted at the beginning of the year. Power and utility stocks seem to be the best performing stocks on Wall Street this year. Electricity, water, solar, and other types of utilities posted higher gains than all of the other sectors in the S&P 500.