Punxsutawney Phil, the bushy Pennsylvanian, predicted six more weeks of winter cold by seeing his shadow on February 2 – and right on cue, New England fell into a deep freeze.
The financial markets, however, have been feeling quite summery. In January, bonds became a bit steamy, stocks were sultry, and some parts of the tech sector were a-sizzle.
For the month of January, the S&P 500 index of large company US stocks rose by 6.3%. Foreign stocks climbed even higher, up by 9.0%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq index advanced by 10.6%.
Bonds rose along with stocks. The Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index rose by 3.3% last month.
Below is a summary of January returns.
