The S&P 500 pushed to the new all-time high at 2093.55 on Monday, but closed down 1.03% on the final trading day of the year as the Greek snap elections and Russia’s free fall into an economic crisis continued to rattle the markets.

Considering that the S&P 500 was trading in a bearish market for the most part of the year, marked by a reverse falling wedge pattern, it still managed a return for the year of 11.81% ex. dividends. There are technical supports at 2045, 2035 (50-day SMA) and 2020, if the S&P 500 continues to move lower. 

The S&P 500’s best sector performers for 2014 were utilities (+24.29%) and healthcare (+23.30%), while the worst sector performers were telecommunication services (-1.91%) and energy (-9.99%). The hedge fund performance did not fare well either. 

According to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index, which measures the average return of all hedge funds (excepting Funds of Funds) in the Barclay database, the average returns for the hedge funds in 2014 was only 3.68%, compared to 11.12% in 2013.

Just a reminder, a Santa Claus Rally is a surge in the equity markets over the final week of trading, prior to New Year’s.

S&P 500 TICKER: SPX 11.81% YTD

Outperforming Sectors: Utilities 24.29% YTD, Healthcare 23.30% YTD, Information technology 18.18% YTD, Consumer staples 12.87% YTD and Financials 13.10% YTD.

Underperforming Sectors: Industrials 7.52% YTD, Consumer discretionary 8.05% YTD, Materials 4.68% YTD, Telecommunication services (-1.91%) YTD and Energy (-9.99%) YTD.