January 2022 will still go down as a turbulent and loss-ridden month for stocks, but at least it ended on a high note.
A relatively quiet news weekend followed by little in the way of fresh economic data gave investors little to go on Monday, but the session was peppered with a host of individual relief rallies.
Most notable was the S&P 500's seventh-largest holding, Tesla (TSLA), which popped 10.7% thanks to Credit Suisse analysts, who upgraded the stock to Outperform after it lost 20% in January.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"With the market disproportionately punishing growth stocks in the past month, we believe an attractive entry point has emerged for Tesla," said CS analysts, adding that Tesla checks off a number of boxes: attractive growth story, disruption, decarbonization and more.
Netflix (NFLX, +11.1%), Moderna (MRNA, +6.2%), PayPal (PYPL, +5.2%) and Nvidia (NVDA, +7.2%) were among other recently beat-up stocks that closed the month with a rebound.
The S&P 500 gained 1.9% Monday to 4,515, leaving it down 5.3% for the month. That marks the index's worst January since 2009, and the worst month for stocks overall since March 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.2% to 35,131) finished January off 3.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite (+3.4% to 14,239) trimmed its full-month losses to 9.0%.
Other news in the stock market today:
- The small-cap Russell 2000 also roared back Monday, jumping 3.1% to 2,028.
- U.S. crude oil futures surged 1.5% to settle at $88.15 per barrel.
- Gold futures gained nearly 0.6% to end at $1,796.40 an ounce.
- Bitcoin recovered some ground over the weekend and into Monday, improving by 1.9% to $38,484.05. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
- Spotify (SPOT) jumped 13.5% after the audio streaming service over the weekend said it would start adding content advisories to podcasts that contain information about COVID-19. This comes after several musicians, including Neil Young, pulled their music from Spotify to protest podcaster Joe Rogan from spreading misinformation about COVID-19 on his show "The Joe Rogan Experience." SPOT was also upgraded to Buy from Neutral by Citigroup analysts.
- Barclays analyst Benjamin Theurer issued a double uptrade on Beyond Meat (BYND, +15.2%) stock today, raising his outlook on the plant-based protein maker to Overweight from Underweight (the equivalents of Buy and Sell, respectively), saying there are "more positives than negatives" in the U.S. alternative meat product market. BYND already has several high-profile partnerships, including with drinkmaker PepsiCo (PEP) and Taco Bell parent Yum! Brands (YUM). And earlier this month, McDonald's (MCD) said in February it will boost its test market for BYND's plant-based burger by another 600 locations.
A Weak Environment for IPOs, But ...
Market pundits generally predict more volatility ahead, but that doesn't mean investors should write off 2022.
"Market corrections are a normal part of investing and may present opportunities for value-conscious investors," say Jason Pride and Michael Reynolds, CIO of private wealth and vice president of investment strategy, respectively, at investment firm Glenmede. "Growth should continue in 2022, albeit at a slower yet still acceptable pace consistent with an ongoing expansion."
One area of the market desperately looking for signs of normalization and stability is initial public offerings (IPOs). Last year marked a banner year for IPOs, with more than a thousand companies raising roughly $316 billion, according to financial markets platform Dealogic. However, increased volatility slowed IPOs to a crawl in the latter part of 2021, and the slowdown extended into January.
Nevertheless, once the IPO gears start moving again, investors should be able to gain access to several exciting, well-known names. Here, we outline 11 companies widely expected to launch IPOs in the year ahead.
-
Why Does the Fed Prefer PCE Over CPI?Inflation has been top of mind for lots of folks in recent years. Most of Wall Street follows the CPI but the Fed favors the PCE. Here's why.
-
Five Great Places to Live in WyomingWhether you prefer the buzzy affluence of Jackson Hole, rodeo towns or mountain towns, Wyoming should be on any nature lover’s list.
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Drops Another 2,231 Points to Hit a CorrectionThe Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, entered a new bear market with its latest slide.
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Dives 1,679 Points on Trump Tariff ShockU.S. stocks lost roughly $3.1 trillion in market cap on Thursday – the biggest one-day decline since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
-
The Stock Market Is Selling Off. Here's What Investors Should DoInvestors are fleeing the equities market en masse in response to the Trump administration's "jaw-dropping" tariffs. But the experts say don't panic.
-
Stock Market Today: It's the Old Up-Down Again on Liberation DayMarkets look forward to what comes with the reordering of 80-year-old global trade relationships.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Are Mixed Before Liberation DayMarkets are getting into the freewheeling rhythm of a second Trump administration.
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Rises 854 Points From Its Intraday LowIf there's one thing markets hate, it's uncertainty. But uncertainty is all they're getting these days.
-
Stock Market Today: It's Going to Stay Choppy for StocksAuto-focus can show us a lot about uncertainty on the ground and in the stock market.
-
Stock Market Today: Auto Tariffs Send Stocks LowerThe main indexes snapped their win streaks after the White House confirmed President Trump will talk about auto tariffs after the close.
