This was another consequential week for market participants as the prices of gold, silver and Bitcoin whipsawed dramatically. The tech sector was hit hard by losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record high. Economic data featured a mixed bag of news that offered little market clarity.

On Monday, some good news came in for the market with the release of the ISM Manufacturing PMI. In January, the index was at 52.6, which was higher than the projected 48.5 and higher than last month’s reading of 47.9. On Wednesday, the ISM Services PMI was released and came in at 53.8. This was higher than the expected 53.5 and was also only slightly lower than last month’s reading of 54.4.
However, the ADP nonfarm payroll report revealed that the economy added just 22,000 jobs in December. It was believed prior to the release that the economy had added 46,000 jobs for the month. This figure was also lower than the 37,000 positions created in December. The BLS version of the nonfarm payroll report was supposed to be made public on Friday, but it is now scheduled for next Wednesday.

Thursday saw the release of the JOLTS job reports figure for January as well as the unemployment claims figures for the past seven days. In January, there were 6.54 million openings in the United States, compared to an expected 7.25 million. This was slightly lower than the 6.93 million positions available in December.

The data reflects a growing trend among workers and employers to maintain the status quo. Employees don’t want to leave their current jobs because they fear that they won’t find better opportunities. Meanwhile, employers don’t want the added costs and uncertainty associated with laying off employees. Furthermore, they are generally focused on how to improve productivity as opposed to increasing their head counts.

As far as unemployment claims are concerned, there were 231,000 requests for benefits. This was up from 209,000 a week ago and well above the projected 212,000 claims prior to the release.

On Friday, the University of Michigan released its consumer sentiment and inflation expectations reports. Consumer sentiment came in at 57.3, which was higher than the projected 55. Respondents also said that inflation was going to be at 3.5 percent in 12 months.

The S&P 500 was relatively flat again this week gaining almost 13 points to close at 6,932. For the week, the market made a high of 6,989 on Tuesday before falling to a low of 6,782 on Thursday. The index then reversed on Friday to settle in the middle of the weekly range.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was more volatile this week closing up 2.74 percent to finish at 50,115. On Friday, the index climbed above the 50,000 level for the first time in history. For the week, the index forced traders to endure choppy trading until breaking out on Friday. The low of the week was 48,483 which occurred on Thursday while it closed near the weekly high.

Finally, the Nasdaq was the big loser this week, dropping 1.78 percent to close at 25,075. This represented a drop of over 400 points led by big losses for names such as Amazon, Coinbase and Robin Hood. As with the S&P 500, the Nasdaq opened near its high of 25,760 and made a low of 24,460 on Thursday.

In international news, Australia raised the country’s key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.85 percent. Great Britain kept the nation’s interest rate at 3.75 percent on Thursday morning while the Eurozone kept its base interest rate at 2.15 percent.

Next week will certainly be an interesting one as the BLS nonfarm payroll report is scheduled to be released. Retail sales numbers as well as inflation data come out on Tuesday and Friday. Unemployment claims for the past week will come out on Thursday.

The final trading week of January was consequential. The main event for this week was the Federal Reserve’s rate decision that was made on Wednesday. President Trump also announced his likely nominee for Fed Chair this week while the Price Producer Index (PPI) for December was released on Friday morning.

On Wednesday, the Fed decided to keep interest rates at roughly 3.75 percent. This was the first pause in several months and may be the first of many pauses in 2026. During the Fed press conference following the decision, it was noted that the economy was showing signs of improvement.

As has been the case over much of the past few years, the Fed maintains that future monetary policy decisions will depend on the data. The thought is that the current rate is at the top end of the neutral range. It also likely means that the Fed won’t see a need to rush in relation to further easing unless something drastic happens. However, the market continues to price in further cuts in 2026 despite recent guidance from Jerome Powell and others.

Thursday saw the release of unemployment claims for the past seven days. Over that period, there were 209,000 claims compared to an expected 206,000 requests for benefits. This week’s figure was slightly lower than the 210,000 claims made in the prior week.

On Friday, the PPI for December revealed that prices rose 0.5 percent during the final month of 2025. Analysts expected prices to rise by 0.2 percent prior to the release, which was what happened in November. Core PPI increased by 0.7 percent compared to an expected increase of 0.2 percent and flat growth in November.

Generally speaking, an increase in the PPI means that there could be an increase in overall prices soon. Therefore, it’s possible that inflation will continue to remain sticky over the next few months.

The S&P 500 spent another week essentially meandering as it closed down 0.14 percent, which was a loss of just over nine points. For the first month of the year, the index is up just 0.37 percent following a year in which it registered double-digit growth. Over the last five trading days, it made a high of 7,001 on Wednesday morning and a low of 6,882 on Thursday morning.

The Dow as also down this week, losing 321 points to finish Friday’s trading at 48,892. That was a loss of 0.65 percent for the past five days for another index that has been somewhat sluggish in January. It has gone up just over 364 points since the start of the new year. For the week, the market made a high of 49,480 on Monday before reversing and making a low of 48,533 on Friday.

Finally, the Nasdaq was down 0.53 percent this week fueled mostly by a dismal day on Friday that saw the index lose 331 points. Over the past five days, the index shed 136 points, and for the month, it was up 125 points, which was a gain of about 0.5 percent. This week, the index made a high of 26,126 on Wednesday and a low of 25,458 on Thursday.

In international news, Australia announced on Tuesday that inflation increased 1 percent over the past month, which equates to 3.8 percent on an annualized basis. On Wednesday, Canada decided to hold its main interest rate at 2.25 percent. On Thursday, Japan announced that its inflation rate was 2 percent on an annualized basis. Friday, Canada announced that its GDP was flat during December.

On Monday, the ISM Manufacturing PMI will be released. Tuesday sees the release of the JOLTS report for January. On Wednesday, the ISM Services PMI comes out as well as the ADP nonfarm payroll report. Unemployment claims data will be made public on Thursday while the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases its version of the nonfarm payroll report on Friday.