The 2022 rundown

And just like that, 2022 is coming to an end. It’s safe to say that it hasn’t been a strong year, with most major indices down from the beginning of January. Inflation and interest rates were at the forefront and reaped havoc on the markets. However, the interest rate hikes we saw in December were smaller than the ones earlier in the year, which could be a sign that inflation is slowing down.

As we head into the final days of the year, we think it’s only fitting to look back on the major happenings in the investing world in 2022.

January

• US stocks did not start the year off strong, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones seeing their worst month since March 2020 and the Nasdaq having its worst January since 2008
• Apple became the first company to reach $3 trillion in market cap
• Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in a deal that would make Microsoft the world’s third largest video game company. As of now, the deal has not gone through as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US plans to sue Microsoft, which may prevent the acquisition

February

• Brent oil prices surpassed $105, a level not reached since 2014, following Russia’s attack on Ukraine
• Inflation hit a 40-year high in the US, mostly driven by broad increases in food, electricity and housing costs

March

• The euro area (EU member states that have adopted the euro) reported that inflation in February was 5.9%, the highest level since inflation data collection started in 1997
• Gold prices rose above $2000 per ounce, the highest level since August 2020, amid the Ukraine war and anxiety surrounding oil market disruptions
• The US Federal Reserve (the Fed) raised interest rates in the US for the first time in over three years by 25 basis points to 0.50%

April

• Netflix reported its first subscriber loss in a decade
• The S&P 500 and the Dow had its worst April since 1970
• Elon Musk announced plans to buy Twitter for $43.4 billion

May

• Tech stocks lost over $1 trillion in market value over three trading days
• The S&P 500 briefly dipped into bear market territory
• The Fed increased interest rates in the US by 50 basis points to 1.00%

June

• S&P 500 entered a bear market
• Stock prices of oil companies began to soar
• Amazon underwent a 20-for-1 stock split
• Shopify underwent a 10-for-1 stock split
• The Fed increased interest rates in the US by 75 basis points to 1.75%

July

• Tesla saw a drop in deliveries for the first time since the beginning of 2020
• Alphabet underwent a 20-for-1 stock split
• GameStop underwent a 4-for-1 stock split
• Spotify hit an all-time low
• The European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates for the first time in 11 years by 50 basis points from 0.00% to 0.50%
• The Fed increased interest rates in the US by 75 basis points to 2.50%
• The euro and US dollar reached parity for the first time in two decades

August

• Meta was knocked out of ranking of the top 10 most valuable companies
• The combined streaming services of the Walt Disney Company surpassed Netflix in number of subscribers
• Tesla underwent a 3-for-1 stock split

September

• GBP (£) hit an all-time low against USD ($)
• Porsche made its market debut, Europe’s largest IPO in over a decade. It then became Europe’s most valuable carmaker
• BYD surpassed Tesla in having the biggest market share in the global electric vehicle industry for the first time
• Global semiconductor sales decreased on a year-to-year basis for the first time since January 2020
• Adobe announced plans to acquire Figma for $20 billion
• The ECB increased interest rates by 75 basis points to 1.25%, pushing rates to their highest level since 2011
• The Fed increased interest rates in the US by 75 basis points to 3.25%

October

• Elon Musk’s completed deal to buy Twitter, making Twitter a private company
• Exxon’s stock price hit a record high
• Tech stocks experienced another sell off
• Meta closed at its lowest level since October 2015
• Tencent’s stock price hit a 5-year low
• Nintendo underwent a 10-for-1 stock split
• Revlon was delisted from the NYSE after filing for bankruptcy in July
• The ECB increased interest rates by 75 basis points to 2.00%

November

• The Dow rose by more than 20% from lows in October, putting it in a bull market (by definition)
• The S&P 500 rose by 5.5% after the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was released, which is an indicator of inflation. This was the best first-day reaction to a CPI report since records began in 2003
• The Fed increased interest rates in the US by 75 basis points to 4.00%
• Apple’s market cap topped Alphabet, Amazon and Meta’s combined

December

• The Fed increased interest rates in the US by 50 basis points to 4.50%
• The ECB increased interest rates by 50 basis points to 2.50%

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Sources: ECB, Bloomberg, Reuters, Forbes, MarketWatch, Semiconductor Industry Association, Nasdaq