US equity markets closed mostly higher on the first trading day of the new month after a blockbuster January, buoyed by an unexpectedly strong jobs report which helped blunt the impact of a weak session for Amazon.com Inc - Dow up +64-points or +0.26% to log its sixth consecutive weekly gain. The broader S&P500 inched +0.09% higher, with gains in the Energy (up +1.83%) and Technology (+0.61%) offset by losses for the Consumer Discretionary (-1.77%) sector. The technology-centric NASDAQ fell -0.25%, with Amazon.com Inc down -5.4% (to US$1,626.23) after the internet giant reported record holiday-quarter earnings and revenue after the closing bell of the previous session albeit the company's outlook for the current quarter came in below expectations. Amazon now sits ~20.70% below it September 2018 high of US$2,050.50. For the week, Dow rose +1.3%, S&P500 +1.6% and Nasdaq +1.4% Gains in January usually translate into a positive year for stocks. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has ended a calendar year higher 87% of the time when January ends up being a positive month (source: Stock Trader’s Almanac)
