Best January for Dow, S&P since '97

It's the best start for stocks in 15 years.

In what was mostly a slow and steady climb, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.4 percent in January, and the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 4.4 percent, the best performances for both indexes to open a year since 1997.

Investors were encouraged by modest but welcome improvement in the U.S. economy, including an 8.5 percent unemployment rate, the lowest in almost three years. Corporate profits didn't wow anyone -- except Apple's -- but they were good enough.

"I don't see anything really glamorous or tremendous about the economy or earnings," said Jerry Harris, chief investment strategist at the brokerage Sterne Agee. "But I think they're very acceptable, and things are grinding along."

An unexpected drop in consumer confidence dragged stocks down on the final day of the month.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 20.81 points, or 0.16 percent, at 12,632.91. The broader market fared better. The S&P barely finished in the red, declining 0.60, or 0.05 percent, to 1,312.41. The Nasdaq composite index rose 1.90, or 0.07 percent, to close at 2,813.84. The Nasdaq gained 8 percent for the month, its best January since 2001.