(MONEY Magazine) – With the economy finally gathering speed, the average domestic stock fund rose almost 3% in January before the Feb. 4 nosedive. Not bad -- even though that gain was only half as brawny as that earned by the economically sensitive Dow Jones industrial average. Bond fund holders had it tougher, eking out a paltry 1.3% as interest rates seesawed. The runaway winners, though, were funds specializing in Japan and Latin America. They topped all other categories by surging more than 10%.

STOCK FUNDS Up 2.9% BOND FUNDS Up 1.3% TOP CATEGORY OVERSEAS Up 4.9%