The US stock market took investors for a wild ride in 2015, but in the end it was a trip to nowhere. Despite veering between record highs and the steepest dive in four years, the stock market ended the year essentially flat, delivering the weakest performance since 2008. The US market got 2015 off to a slow start as investors worried about falling crude oil prices, flat earnings growth, and when and how quickly the Federal Reserve would begin raising interest rates. By May, the major indexes were hitting new highs. But worries about slowing growth in China and elsewhere gave reason for the Fed to pause and for investors to fret, even as the US economy continued to create jobs and consumer confidence improved. Weak company earnings, largely due to the strong dollar and falling oil prices, didn’t do much for the market’s confidence. By August, the anxiety had deepened and the market dropped sharply. But within several weeks, the market had mostly bounced back. The Nasdaq composite returned to positive territory for the year. In the weeks that followed, the S&P 500 inched back into positive territory, leaving the Dow as the only major market indicator negative for the year.