The S&P 500 in May continued to bring bouquets to investors, closing the quarter on an upbeat note with a 1.53% gain. For the second quarter, the index rose 8.53%; year-to-date, it’s notched a nice little 2.59% gain.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 closed at 2096.96.
Who knew after the sturm and drang of the first quarter that the spring would be so cheery?
The inimitable Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst, S&P Dow Jones comments: “’Bring it on’ was the eventual Street’s answer to Yellen & Company’s ‘you don’t give me no respect,’ as it embraced the fact that the addiction [to low interest rates] has come to an end. “
Here are some of the highlights Silverblatt notes in his quarter end comments:
- Oil hit $50/barrel for the first time since November 2015
- The market has gone one full year without a new high
- The Dow Jones Industrials turned 120 years old on May 26. The only original component left: General Electric. One hundred dollars of GE bought then would be worth $388,000. A $100 in the Dow would be worth $44,000.
Photo: olle svensson