Stocks clock their best month since 2020 as Wall Street shakes off Iran oil shock

the s&p 500 and nasdaq composite just had their best month since 2020, which is also their best january in six years. this caught the bears off guard, especially those who were focused on oil prices after the iran shock. the rally pushed the s&p 500 up roughly 6% for the month, while the nasdaq gained about 7%. the gains came despite a brief spike in crude prices after iran-related headlines, which quickly faded as traders decided the supply disruption risk was manageable. wall street seemed to shrug off the geopolitical noise entirely, focusing instead on earnings and a fed that stayed on hold.