MARKET RECAP*
- Stocks rallied in May, posting its best month since January and best May since 2009
- The S&P 500 finished the month with a positive 2.4% return
- Top Sectors: Technology (+7.4%), Energy (+3.0%), Industrials (+3.0%)
- Bottom Sectors: Telecom (-2.5%), Consumer Staples (-1.9%), Utilities (-1.8%)
- Large Cap Growth beat Large Cap Value in May by a modest margin
- Growth continues to lead Value by 4.3% this year
- Small Cap stocks gained 6.1% on the month, outperforming both large and mid-cap stocks
- International Developed countries underperformed U.S. stocks by 3.0% on the month
- Emerging Markets declined 2.2% on the month as the dollar continues to strengthen
- Long-Term Treasury yields trended slightly lower on the month as volatility further subsides
- The ten-year Treasury yield ended the month at 2.83% after breaking through the 3% level for a 2-week period in May
ECONOMIC NEWS**
- The economy created 223,000 jobs in May, coming in well above expectations of 190,000
- This brings the consecutive number of monthly job gains to 92, the longest on record for the U.S.
- Core inflation rose to 2.1% in May, continuing its rise over the course of the year
- Fed officials have continued to raise interest rates this year as core inflation rises
- The unemployment rate fell from 3.9% in April to 3.8% in May, matching April 2000 as the lowest reading since the 1960s
