U.S.-stock funds posted a 1.8% total return in January, a month that saw the hullabaloo of Dow 20000 and the minute-to-minute ups and downs of the Trump administration. Gold-oriented funds, which had soared 55% in 2016 but ended the year on a down note, advanced 15% in January. Bond funds eked out small gains, but analysts said some investors are warming to them again as yields increase. Funds focused on intermediate-maturity, investment-grade debt, the most commonly held type of bond fund, gained 0.3% for the month. International-stock funds, which had been pummeled by U.S. counterparts in 2016 (10.8% to 0.7% in favor of the U.S.), turned the tables in January with a total return of 3.5%.

Source: Wall Street Journal February 06, 2017 03:00 UTC