Chris Hagan, vice president at Adviser Investments, has the market analysis for Thursday, January 31. The Commerce Department reported that new home sales surpassed the forecasted rate and rose 17% from October to November to reach an eight-month high. Meanwhile, Amazon beat fourth-quarter earnings estimates, but its forward guidance missed analyst expectations. General Electric surpassed revenue forecasts and announced a tentative Justice Department settlement related to the company’s now-shuttered subprime mortgage business. In reaction to the news, General Electric’s stockA financial instrument giving the holder a proportion of the ownership and earnings of a company. saw its best one-day gain since March 2009, up 11.6%, contributing to a 34.2% return in January.
