For well over a century, the stock market has outpaced all other asset classes. Even accounting for down years, the annualized returns of the broader market have handily outpaced the annualized returns of Treasury bonds, housing, gold, oil, and pretty much any other asset class you can think of.

But it's a completely different story if the lens is narrowed. Since this decade began, the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), widely followed S 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and growth-stock fueled Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) have traded off between bull and bear markets in successive years.

In 2023, investors are smiling once again because the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq have meaningfully rallied off their 2022 bear market lows. But this rally might come to an abrupt halt once the curtain closes on the current year.

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Source Fool.com