U.S. stock markets had their worst year since 2008.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended the year down 2.2 percent and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 0.7 percent.
Performance throughout the year was marked by changing expectations about when the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates, concerns about a slowdown in emerging markets and the continuing trend of sinking oil prices, which ended the year down 30 percent with U.S. oil closing at $37 a barrel.
Six of the 10 S&P 500 sectors notched losses for the year, including a drop of more than 23 percent for the S&P 500 energy index.
Those prices fell as global demand for goods decreased, due partly to slower economic growth in emerging market countries, says Paul Christopher, head of global market strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
After trading relatively flat for the first half of the year, stocks tanked over the summer amid fears of a slowdown in China and other emerging-market countries.