Almost every major stock market gained.
One of the catchphrases among economists this year was "synchronized global growth."
They were basically saying that most economies around the world are expanding, not shrinking, at the same time. This hasn't happened since 2007, right before the US economy collapsed.
It's partly thanks to low borrowing costs from central bankers, which have encouraged economic growth and risk-taking in financial markets.
GE had a rough year.
General Electric, the only surviving original member of the Dow Jones industrial average, stands out among the five companies that lost value.
The former CEO Jeff Immelt retired this year after overseeing a turnaround that involved expensive, ambitious expansions into new businesses. Mid-November, the company cut its dividend and announced a restructuring plan that failed to impress investors, as the stock has fallen another 15% since then.
On the flip side, strong demand for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner aircraft helped propel its stock to the top of the Dow's leaderboard for 2017.
FANG, FAANG, and FAAMG stocks.
Whatever the acronym, tech was the winning sector in 2017 and helped contribute to much of the S&P 500's gains.
The best-performing S&P 500 stock in 2017 wasn't one of those companies, however. It was Align Technology, the company that makes invisible braces and has earned more than $1 billion in sales this year. Its stock surged 134%.
Tech also won across the world.
That's a chart of the MSCI all-country world index. The MSCI world equity index has gained for 13 straight months. Not even North Korea's threats could scare investors away from the stock market.
Orange-juice futures had their worst decline since 1967.
Lower demand for futures to hedge against price changes and declining citrus crop in Florida triggered a 15-day sell-off in December.
Crude oil prices extended their recovery to a two-year high as major producers complied with their agreement to reduce production.
And, fears of a palladium shortage sent prices to the highest level in 17 years, according to Reuters. The demand is coming from automakers who use the precious metal to purify the pollutants released by gasoline.
The dollar had a bad year.
2017 was the weakest year for the dollar since 2003. This helped to boost the value of most other major currencies relative to it.
And finally, the wildest market of the year.
In 2017, cryptocurrencies moved from the fringes to mainstream Wall Street.
