MARKET RECAP*
- Major U.S. and international stock markets rose on the month as volatility continued to hit historically low levels
- The S&P 500 finished the month at a new all-time high, while posting a 2% gain
- Top Sectors: Technology (+4.4%), Utilities (+4.4%)
- Bottom Sectors: Energy (-3.4%), Financials (-1.2%)
- 70% of the S&P 500’s return last month came from the technology sector and 25% came from four stocks:
- Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google
- 23% of the S&P 500’s weight is now in technology stocks, the highest since 2001
- Growth continued to outperform Value in May by 4%, and leads by 11.4% year-to-date
- International developed countries increased 1% last month on the back of positive economic momentum
- Emerging markets continued to perform strongly, rising 2% on the month and 17.7% YTD
- Long-Term Treasury yields dropped on the month, the 10-year Treasury yielded 21% at month end
- This resulted in long-term Treasury bonds beating the S&P 500 last month
ECONOMIC NEWS***
- The economy created 138,000 jobs in May, leading to a 3-month average of just 121,000
- The unemployment rate dropped to a new low of 4.3%
- However, average hourly earnings continue to grow at a sluggish pace
- The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, Core PCE, continues to drift lower
- Currently it sits at 1.5%, well below the Fed’s 2% inflation target
Asset Performance 5/31/2017**
