The Nasdaq’s Best January Since 2001
Hello traders.
Tuesday morning’s off to a stronger start than yesterday. The Dow Jones is up 0.4%, the S&P 500 is up 0.7%, and the Nasdaq is gaining over 1.0% right now.
Crude oil is up 1.1% as well, although still below $80/barrel. Gold bullion is up 0.4% as well, while Bitcoin is mostly unchanged at the moment.
Despite some turbulence earlier this month, stocks are set to end January well in the green. The S&P 500 alone is up 5.8% this month, making this the best January for the index since 2019. The Nasdaq’s up over 10.8% since January, the best start since 2001.
Markets are up today on some better-than-expected economic news. For one, wage growth is slowing down modestly. Employers spent 1% more on wages and benefits in Q4 compared to the prior three months.
This report confirms other recent signs that wage growth is slowing and could influence Fed officials’ debate this week on whether to refrain from rate hikes going into the spring.
“Investors’ expectations are getting a bit ahead of themselves,” said Hans Olsen, chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust Company. “With unemployment at 3.5% and the economy still adding more than 200,000 jobs per month, it’s way too premature to suggest that the Fed’s work is done.”
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