Market Monitor January 23th

Highlights

The inauguration of President Donald Trump and strong quarterly earnings from major U.S. companies fueled optimism on Wall Street. The S&P 500 briefly hit a new record.

The Dow Jones rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq gained 1.3%, and the S&P 500 ended up 0.6% after a slight pullback. Strong corporate earnings, including Netflix (which added 19 million new subscribers, surpassing 300 million total subscribers), helped boost the markets. Netflix stock jumped 9%.

Oracle also gained nearly 7% after announcing a major AI investment in collaboration with the U.S. government, which lifted other AI-related stocks like Nvidia (+4%) and Arm (+16%).

Despite the positive sentiment, analysts warn that U.S. stock valuations are already high. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon even called them "inflated." Market strategist Matt Maley emphasized that strong earnings alone might not be enough to sustain the rally.

Major U.S. Indices Performance

S&P 500 (SPY):

Closed at 606.44 (+0.56%), maintaining an uptrend. Over the past month, it has gained 3.47%, and the 3-month return stands at 4.73%.

Nasdaq 100 (QQQ):

Finished at 531.51 (+1.3%), showing strong momentum. It has gained 3.37% in the past month and 7.31% over the last three months.

Russell 2000 (IWM):

Ended at 228.29 (-0.65%), showing weakness compared to large-cap indices. While the past month’s performance is still positive at 3.83%, the 3-month return is a modest 4.29%.

Sector Performance

Best-performing sector over 1 week:

Information Technology, followed by Industrials and Communication Services.

Best-performing sector over 1 month:

Energy, followed by Information Technology and Industrials.

3-month sector performance:

Technology remains the leader, with Industrials also showing significant strength. Real Estate and Consumer Staples were the weakest sectors.

All info available on our Sector Performance page

Market Breadth Indicators

• Advancers: 37.4%
• Decliners: 37.3%
• Above 20-day SMA: 40.1%
• Above 50-day SMA: 46.1%
• Above 100-day SMA: 47.1%
• Above 200-day SMA: 51.1%
• New Highs (NH): 4.8%
• New Lows (NL): 2.8%

All info available on our Market Monitor page

Conclusion

• The market had a mixed session, with large-cap indices (S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100) showing strength, while small caps (Russell 2000) struggled, showing an inside day candlestick.
• The Technology and Industrial sectors led the gains, while Real Estate and Consumer Staples lagged.
• Market breadth indicators suggest a balanced distribution between advancing and declining stocks, though the percentage of stocks above key moving averages remains strong, indicating an overall bullish trend.