All three benchmarks are headed for weekly gains
It was another tumultuous week on Wall Street, as the major indexes closed January with steep monthly losses. The first day of February saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC), all nab sizable wins, while the Cboe Market Volatility Index (VIX) closed it its lowest level in more than two weeks. By Wednesday, the benchmarks locked in their fourth-straight win, thanks to more tech earnings, before the next session saw Facebook parent Meta Platforms' (FB) earnings cut the rally short. At this point on Friday, the major indexes are all eyeing weekly wins.
Huge Earnings Results
Arguably the biggest news of the week was earnings from Meta Platforms (FB). The Facebook parent opened at its lowest level since January 2021, after missing earnings estimates and issuing a first-quarter forecast that missed analysts expectations. The event had extreme sector implications, dragging down at least two other major social media names.
Snapchat-parent company Snap (SNAP) had an upbeat quarter, doubling earnings estimates for its first-ever quarterly net profit. Amazon's (AMZN) results, meanwhile, showed a 40% revenue growth for its Amazon Web Services (AWS), injecting some positivity into the battered tech sector.
Stock to Watch in February
With the second month of 2022 upon us, now is a great time to take a look at some stocks that have historically outperformed, as well as one that's lacked in the month of February. This travel stock is a surprising name to find on the list; nevertheless, over the last 10 years, its failed to yield positive results just twice. Elsewhere, make sure to consider Nvidia (NVDA), as it's not only an outperformer, but boasts some impressive sector tailwinds at the moment. Conversely, retailer Walmart (WMT) is one of the worst stocks to own this month, and the worst overall Dow member in terms of returns.
Meanwhile, investors should keep an eye on this exchange traded fund (ETF), in the wake of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) latest meeting; it could turn out to be a prudent play for the supremely bearish.
Wall Street Set to Watch CPI, Earnings Next Week
Leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, there's plenty on the docket to keep investors busy. The spotlight will shine on the January and fourth-quarter consumer price index (CPI), while earnings from Alibaba (BABA), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), and PepsiCo (PEP), to name a few, are due out. In the meantime, check out Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's thoughts on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) suffering its worst January in 13 years.