Stock market heat stayed high in July. Better-than-expected economic growth, declining inflation, and receding recession fears were supportive of the “new bull” which began last month.
For the month of July, the S&P 500 index of large company US stocks rose by 3.3%. Foreign stocks climbed by 2.7%. Year-to-date as of July 31, US stocks gained 20.6% and foreign stocks were up by 12.6%
However, stronger-than-expected economic growth, along with the possibility of interest rates needing to stay higher for longer to cool inflation, put downward pressure on the bond markets.
The Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index fell slightly last month (less than 0.1%). Through the end of July, the bond market return year-to-date was 2.25%.
Below is a summary of July returns.
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