Historically speaking, Wall Street is one of the top long-term wealth creators, and the U.S. economy tends to grow over many decades. But when examined on a year-to-year basis, the performance of both the stock market and U.S. economy can be unpredictable.

For instance, the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), broad-based S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and technology-dependent Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) all entered a bear market in 2022 and closed out the year with their worst performances since 2008.

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Source Fool.com