Wall Street held firmer on Wednesday, a day after strong reports on the economy hurt U.S. stocks by stirring up worries that inflation and interest rates may remain higher than expected. The S&P 500 rose 0.

Asian stocks were mostly lower on Thursday after U.S. stock indexes finished mixed a day after strong reports on the economy stirred up worries that inflation and interest rates may remain higher than expected.

A soft finish to 2024 still left stocks with a second straight stellar year. The S&P 500 logged a 23.3% gain, which follows a 24% rise in 2023. The combined gains of more than 53% was the largest two-year percentage jump for the index since year-end 1998,