Strong corporate earnings growth, record-low volatility and synchronized global economic expansion helped stocks broadly beat analysts’ expectations

The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its second-biggest yearly gain of the past decade in 2017, rising a surprising 25%. The market notched the most closing highs for the index in a single calendar year. Volatility swooned to historic lows and many global stock markets finished the year at or near records or multiyear highs. It’s a sharp change from what many money managers and analysts anticipated at the start of 2017. At the time, many expected what they called a “sideways market,” where the overall levels of major indexes would remain little changed at year-end. Instead, the S&P 500 posted its best yearly gain since 2013.

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