The Dow and the S&P 500 may have had an off-day today, but they still both had their biggest January percentage gain since 1997.

The Dow was up 3.4 percent in January, while the S&P was up 4.4 percent.

Both indices, however, ended the day lower.  The Dow was down 20 points, and the S&P was down less than a point.

This January was good in part because previous years have been so dismal.  The recent recession wiped out several years worth of value in stocks, so the markets are climbing out of that hole.