VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Revelers ringing in of the new year this week need to watch out for the next day's hangover. And investors may experience a similar feeling early in 2015 after a two-year run that has propelled U.S. stocks up by nearly 50 percent.

U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday, as investors found few reasons to keep pushing shares higher following a sharp rally that has taken major indexes to repeated records.

U.S. stocks rose at the open on Monday, following the worst week for the benchmark S&P 500 index in more than two years, with investors focused on crude oil prices which earlier hit a fresh 5-1/2-year low.

Pessimism and doubt have dominated how Americans see the economy for many years. Now, in a hopeful sign for the economic outlook, confidence is suddenly perking up.

U.S. stocks dipped on Monday, after soft data in China and Japan raised global growth concerns, while a further drop in oil prices weighed on energy shares.

U.S. employers added the largest number of workers in nearly three years in November and wage gains picked up, a sign of economic strength that could draw the Federal Reserve closer to raising interest rates.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to nearly its lowest level since before the 2007-09 recession, a sign of growing steam in the U.S. labor market.

U.S. stocks ended with sharp losses on Thursday, with the S&P 500 suffering its biggest one-day decline since July, as Apple tumbled and the dollar rose to a four-year high.

U.S. stocks edged higher in volatile trading on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve renewed its pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a "considerable time" and repeated concerns over slack in the labor market, standing firm against calls to overhaul its policy statement.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as energy shares extended their recent slide, while rising bond yields drove down high-dividend paying shares. Major indexes finished lower after five straight weeks of gains.

U.S. stocks recovered from early losses on Thursday, with the S&P 500 managing a slight gain as energy prices and oil stocks turned higher and financials lent support.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, lifting the S&P 500 to a fresh closing high, after a weaker-than-expected jobs report was taken as a sign that the Federal Reserve will not begin raising interest rates anytime soon.

U.S. stocks ended down on Thursday, retreating from intraday records for the S&P and Dow, as a decline in energy shares sapped an earlier rally following the European Central Bank's new stimulus measures.

U.S. stocks ended mostly down on Wednesday, as a decline in Apple shares dragged the Nasdaq lower and investors held off on big bets before the European Central Bank's upcoming policy meeting.

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday, retreating from records set the previous month, as falling crude oil prices dragged energy shares down and offset strong manufacturing data.