Stocks: Market Crushes Start of 2018

Stocks insights

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average posted strong January returns this year, the best start in over 20 years.

Economatica examined the January returns for the  S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) over the past 25 years and made the following observations from the chart below:

The returns from the start of this year are 5.79% for the Dow, now the best January return for the index since 1994. The S&P 500 returned 5.62% this January and is the second highest January return since 1997.

The highest return for the Dow was in January 1994 with 5.97% while the lowest for the index was in January 2009 with a -8.84% return.

The highest return for the S&P 500 was in January 1997 when the index returned 6.13%; its lowest January return was also in 2009, with a -8.57% return.

Both indices have had positive returns in 14 of the periods examined and negative returns in 10 periods. In only one period, January 1998, did the Dow remain flat while the S&P 500 posted a modest return of 1.02%

In only three periods did each index return over 5% in January: 2018, 2013, and 1997.

There were 8 stocks in the S&P 500 that exceeded 20% returns this January. Netflix had the highest return with a whopping 40.81%, while Boeing Company made the bottom of this impressive group with a 20.16% return.

Economatica helps asset managers, analysts, and other investment professionals conduct fundamental and quantitative analysis with a flexible, easy to use online research platform. Ask us for a free trial today and see how the Economatica system will contribute to making more precise investment decisions.