Compared to commodities like gold and oil, bonds, bank certificates of deposit (CDs), and housing, no asset class has delivered a higher annualized long-term return than the stock market. But when examined over shorter time frames, the major indexes become far less predictable.

Over the trailing-two-year period, investors have watched the iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), benchmark S 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and growth-propelled Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC), catapult to multiple record-closing highs, plunge into a bear market, and now bounce substantially from their respective 2022 bear market lows. For new and tenured investors alike, the question is the same: Where will stocks head next?

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Source Fool.com