The S&P 500 logged positive gains in the first month of 2023, as inflation continued to relax and unemployment inched down to its lowest level since 1969.
The broad market index grew 6.2% in January, outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 2.8% increase. The S&P 500 closed 2022 at its worst annual performance since 2008.
The smaller-cap Russell 2000 soared even higher, up 9.7% for the month.
Sector performance
The S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary index recorded the highest increase of any sector for the month, up 15%, with the S&P 500 Communication Services index following at 14.2%.
Rounding out the top three was the S&P 500 Real Estate index, up 9.9%.
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The S&P 500 Utilities and S&P 500 Healthcare indexes each dropped 2.0% in January, while the S&P 500 Consumer Staples index fell 1.1%.
Largest gains, drops in January
Among S&P 500 constituents, movie and entertainment company Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. logged the highest increase in share price. Warner Bros. Discovery's share price steadily grew in the first month of the year, closing Jan. 31 at $14.82, up 56.3%.
Electric car manufacturer Tesla Inc. placed second, rebounding 40.6% after its large drop the month prior. Late in the month, Tesla reported record-high earnings for the fourth quarter of 2022. Tesla was also the most traded stock for the month, with an average daily volume over 193 million, or about 6.1% of its shares outstanding.
Data storage producer Western Digital Corp. rounded out the top three, up 39.3% for the month.
At the other end of the spectrum, aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman Corp. closed the month with the largest share-price decline of the group, down 17.9%.
Solar energy technology-oriented Enphase Energy Inc. and pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. followed next, down 16.4% and 13.8%, respectively.
