Shares in America's largest publicly-held companies closed 2017 with about a 21.8% total return.

Since the financial crisis bear market of 2008, when the Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 36.6%, the stock market has returned a profit for nine straight calendar years.

It marked the 32nd time in the 90 calendar-years since the inception of the modern era of Wall Street trading that stocks returned more than 20% in a calendar year.