Nasdaq Has Worst January in 14 years

The Nasdaq opened Jan. 3, the first trading day of 2022, at 15,732.50. On Monday, Jan. 31, it closed the at 14,239.88. While that's up 3.41% from where it began the day, the month-long performance is the worst January the Nasdaq has seen since the tech-heavy stock market index's 10% fall in 2008 amid the global financial crisis.Meanwhile, the S&P 500 came down 5.3% this month and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 3.97%.

LOS ANGELES: The Nasdaq Composite ended the trading day Monday down 9.49% from where it started at the beginning of January, marking its worst month since March 2020 -- the start of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.

The Nasdaq opened Jan. 3, the first trading day of 2022, at 15,732.50. On Monday, Jan. 31, it closed the at 14,239.88. While that's up 3.41% from where it began the day, the month-long performance is the worst January the Nasdaq has seen since the tech-heavy stock market index's 10% fall in 2008 amid the global financial crisis.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 came down 5.3% this month and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 3.97%.

The Nasdaq composite was hit hard at the beginning of the new year in large part because investors made moves based on the loom of rising interest rates and how they would affected the highly valued sector.

Among the tech stocks that took a tumble in January were Netflix (-28.5%), Amazon (-12.22%), Roku (-29.65%), Google parent company Alphabet (-6.68%), Apple (-3.97%) and Microsoft (-7.10%).

Netflix's stock story is one that's been followed particularly closely among the tech options this month, as the company's market cap took a 32% hit over the first 30 days of January based investors' concerns over slowing subscriber growth and a weak Q1 outlook. However, the stock is rebounding after Citi analysts upgraded Netflix and Spotify stocks to buy ratings, saying the market is undervaluing their longer-term upside.

Netflix's stock rise Monday also comes after co-CEO Reed Hastings bought $20 million worth of the shares, disclosed after the market closed Friday. That followed hedge fund manager Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital buying $1 billion in Netflix stock last week, making the firm a top 20 investor in Netflix.- Reuters