Get out your crystal balls. This final day of the year is the perfect time to ponder and predict where stocks will go in 2008.
We want to know what you think. Take the poll below -- and please write us at marketinsider@cnbc.com. We will post some of your comments later in the week.
Next year's market outlook is uncertain. There are plenty of possible pitfalls, chief among them the threat of a recession. Certainly, the housing market shows signs it is continuing to sink.
The credit crunch, while better, is not cured -- and at any time the fear it creates could ripple through the markets again and rough up stocks. Corporate earnings growth is clearly slowing down.
However, there are plenty of investors who are convinced the stock market will turn in a decent enough performance next year. They see it ending the year higher -- though not without some pullbacks, and plenty of volatility.
One reason this scenario makes sense: these investors believe the Fed will cut interest rates further, avoiding recession and keeping the markets liquid. They don't fear inflation.
Let's use the measure of the S&P 500. It doesn't have the narrow gauge of the Dow 30, and it didn't have the razzle-dazzle double-digit gain of the Nasdaq in 2007. It is a broader index and it includes a good number of financials, the stocks that took the brunt of the market's pain this past year.
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