Yesterday, the markets looked past the turmoil in Egypt and recouped a good chunk of Friday’s losses.
Supplying the initial boost were a couple of takeover announcements and better-than-expected earnings from Exxon Mobil. Further helping the upside cause were two economic reports showing that the recovery maybe gaining steam.
Consumer spending rose more than forecast as purchases, which account for 70% of economic activity, climbed for the second consecutive month in a row. Additionally, another report showed that businesses expanded at the fastest rate in two decades according to the Institute for Supply Management.
Gold lost and interest rates rose. Nevertheless, the markets managed to close up in January, which can bode well for the rest of this year.
According to the Stock Trader’s Almanac, a rise in January has resulted in gains for the rest of the year 90% of the time since 1950. While these are good odds, it does not say anything about the magnitude of the gains. So we’ll have to wait another 11 months to find out for sure if this will be an odds defying year or not.