January proved a rough start for U.S. stocks as indexes barely avoided a worst-ever yearly start with investors swerving away from risky stocks, signaling a market correction in 2022, while companies brace for interest rate hikes and a withdrawal of pandemic relief measures. After years of booming markets, lofty valuations of companies especially in the tech sector, have come under the spotlight as the central bank plans to increase rates and tighten money flow in the economy. Since the start of the year, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has gone down more than 11 percent. A steady downtrend was halted by an uptick during the last few days starting from Jan. 26. The index increased by 5.73 percent from Jan. 26–31. The last time Nasdaq fell as much in the opening month was back during the financial crisis of 2008 when it dropped almost 10 percent. “At the end of the day, …