Stocks surged for a second day Monday to wrap up a rough January, as investors snapped up some of the tech shares that have been battered all month.
Despite the two-day relief rally, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite posted their worst months since the onset of the pandemic, as investors braced for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates multiple times this year.
Despite the encouraging action on Friday and Monday, the S&P 500 remains on track for its worst month since March 2020. It’s currently off more than 6% on the final trading day of January.
Dow Jones Market Data, this may be the worst January since 2009. Historically, when the S&P falls more than 5% in January, the rest of the year ends higher 70% of the time, with an average gain of 2.6%.
In today’s market, the major indexes extended gains from Friday as investors await another week of corporate earnings reports. The Dow Jones industrials were up 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite rose 2.4% and the S&P 500 advanced 1.3% and is now back above its 200-day moving average.
The Nasdaq cleared resistance at the 14,000 level in afternoon trading, a bullish sign for the tech-heavy index. Technology and consumer discretionary stocks made comebacks Monday, as both sectors led the upside. Both were among last week’s laggards. Health care and consumer staples stocks lagged on Monday but still traded higher.
Dow Jones Futures
Dow Jones futures fell 0.6% vs. fair value, but off its worst levels. S&P 500 futures retreated 0.4%. Nasdaq 100 futures edged lower, even with a slim boost from TSLA stock.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose 3 basis points to 1.81%. Crude oil futures edged higher.
Stock Market Movement
A stock market rally attempt began on Monday as the major indexes reversed modestly higher from steep losses. After some negative reversals during the week, the major indexes rallied back on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3% in last week’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.8%. The Nasdaq composite edged up 1 point, bailed out by Friday’s 3.1% spike. The small-cap Russell 2000 finished down 0.9%.
Tech shares were some of the hardest hit in January, as investors feared higher rates would expose their lofty valuations and raise their operating costs. Investors were rethinking that notion a bit as the month ended, especially after a dramatic pullback in the stocks.
Netflix and Spotify surged more than 11% and 13%, respectively, on Monday upgrades from Citi. The firm cited this month’s pullback as an attractive time to buy. Netflix still dropped nearly 30% this month, and Spotify lost by 16%.
