Investment Review - June 2021
- The S&P 500 increased 0.6% in May, bringing its year-to-date gain to 11.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.9% for the month and 12.8% year-to-date. A combination of robust economic reports, broader vaccinations, and a healthy start to the corporate earnings season led to the positive returns. The Nasdaq Composite, however, declined 1.5% in May, reducing its year-to-date gain to 6.7%. Stretched valuations in the technology sector made that index more vulnerable to concerns about the potential for interest rate hikes.
- Cryptocurrencies experienced considerable volatility in May. The total crypto market capitalization was down over $1 trillion from its highs at one point mid-month. Bitcoin ended May off more than 44% from its peak of $64,800 on April 15. The broader crypto space was impacted by hawkish regulatory comments out of China, as well as an announcement from Elon Musk that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for vehicle purchases.
Sources: Bloomberg, FACTSET, WSJ, U.S. BEA, U.S. BLS, Federal Reserve, Instit. For Supply Mgmt, ISI, IBD, Yardeni Research
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