Best February for the S&P 500 Since 1998

The Dow and S&P 500 turned in their best monthly performance since November 2009, while the NASDAQ turned in its best monthly gain since December 2009. Among the major U.S. indices, the Russell 2,000 led the gains in February, with a gain of 4.41%.

What follows is a summary of this week's statistics on the markets.

Best February Since

• The Dow finished this month in the green, up 2.56%, for its best February since 1995 when it gained 2.6%
• The S&P rose 2.85% this month, for its best February since 1998 when it gained 7.04%
• The NASDAQ posted a gain of 4.23% for its best February since 2000 when it increase 19.2% (biggest February % gain ever)

This Year

• The Dow is off by -400.17 points, or -3.73% from its highest close of the year (a 15-month high) reached on 1/19 of 10,725.43
• The S&P is off by -45.74 points, or -3.98% from its highest close of the year (a 15-month high) reached on 1/19 of 1150.23
• The NASDAQ is off by -82.14 points, or -3.54% from its highest close of the year (a 16-month high) reached on 1/19 of 2320.4

S&P 500

Sector Impact: 8 out of 10 sectors closed the month in positive territory, led to the upside by consumer discretionary stocks. Utility companies were down the most, dropping 1.86%.

• Consumer discretionary companies were helped this month by Office Depot (ODP), up 27%
• Utility were hurt by FirstEnergy (FE), down 11%
• Year-to-date, 5 out of 10 sectors are trading in positive territory, led to the upside by industrials with a gain of 3.3%, and to the downside by telecoms, with a loss of 10.5%

>> Best Performing S&P 500 Stocks in February

More Weekly Stats Here

Commodity Impact:Crude oil for April delivery rose 9.3% for the month, closing at $79.66 per barrel on Friday. The last time crude gained more than 9.3% in a month was in May 2009, when it increased 29.7%.

• Pork bellies futures were among the best performing commodities this month, rising 12%, while added to last week's gains, rising 8.9% this week, while sugar futures halted two months of gains, sliding 21% in February

Currencies Impact: The euro paired some of its recent losses versus the greenback during Friday's trading session, as investors covered short positions on the last day of the month.

Global Index Performance:

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