Here’s a concise summary of how the S&P 500 performed last week compared to its performance over the past month (as of the market close on Friday, January 9, 2026):

📈 Last Week’s Performance

The S&P 500 gained about 1.3% over the week, with strong buying early in the year driven by big tech and broad market strength.

The index also hit multiple record highs during the week, including a 0.6% rise on January 6 and additional gains through January 9.

📅 Past Month’s Performance

Over the last month (roughly since early December), data shows the S&P 500 has risen about 1.8%.

Monthly data from broader indexes typically shows modest positive performance compared with historical averages, with December individual monthly returns slightly negative or flat depending on source.

📊 Key Takeaways

Weekly return (~1.3%) was substantial relative to recent short-term moves, driven by broad gains and record index closes.

Monthly return (~1.8%) reflects steady modest growth over a longer period (including holiday and early New Year trading).

The stocks I like to focus on are part of the Magnificent 7. Here are the Magnificent 7 stocks — the seven large, influential tech-focused companies that have accounted for a significant portion of recent stock-market gains and play a major role in driving the S&P 500 and Nasdaq:

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)

Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL / GOOG) (parent company of Google)

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) (parent company of Facebook & Instagram)

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)

Tesla Inc. (TSLA)

These seven stocks are often grouped together because of their large market capitalizations, rapid growth, and outsized influence on major U.S. equity indexes — especially the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.

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