The Last Time the Stock Market Started a Year This Badly Was 2022. Is Another Crash Coming?

As of Monday's close, the S&P 500 has fallen by about 15% this year (although the index regained about half of that after President Donald Trump put most of his tariff plan on pause). The index is coming off two straight years of gains in excess of 20%, so a bit of a slowdown was arguably overdue. However, investors likely weren't expecting a decline this sharp out of the gate for 2025, especially with the markets initially reacting favorably to Trump's November election win.The market's decline is no mystery -- investors around the world are worried about the impact that global tariffs will have on businesses across all sectors. But is a full-blown market crash coming, and what should investors do amid all this uncertainty? Let's take a closer look at what your best approach may be from here on out.The past two years have been great for investors, but before that, in 2022, the market went into a free fall. That year, the S&P 500 fell by more than 19% as the boost companies got from the pandemic-fueled spending faded, and businesses were cutting jobs as many of them realized they overestimated demand. Plus, rising inflation was a growing problem. Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool