Many investors feared missing out on the seemingly unstoppable gains, especially in technology stocks and other risky companies, and piled in. Stocks quickly recovered from declines in the early days of the pandemic and are now up more than 90 percent from their 2020 low. Over the past two years, the market has defied the uncertainty of the world outside Wall Street. This was in keeping with sharp moves - some up, but mostly down - in previous weeks as investors reassessed their assumptions about markets and the economy. The S&P 500 gained 1.9 percent on Monday, building on a 2.4 percent gain on Friday. It would have been even worse if not for strong rallies on Friday and Monday that regained some of ground lost earlier in the month.

The S&P 500 index ended the month down 5.3 percent on Monday, its worst monthly performance since March 2020, which brought stomach-churning drops in the early days of the pandemic. By that measure, the forecast for stocks in 2022 would be downbeat, and subject to wild swings. It once was a rule of thumb on Wall Street that January set the tone for the year.

Zoom stock price january 2020