July: The Month That Was

The first month of the 3rd quarter and 2nd half of the year is now in the books. So what happened?

Well, the S&P500 rallied over 5%, Treasury Bonds lost some more ground with the long end down 2.5%, commodities did well with Gold up 7.4% and Crude Oil up 9.3%, but emerging markets lagged once again up just 1.3% for the month. Here in the United States, defense led the way once again as the did in the first quarter.

Here is a chart of the S&P Sectors relative to the S&P500. Look how well healthcare did this month, with Utilities right behind them and Technology lagging the group:

Looking around the globe, it was Europe who led the way this month up 7.8%. Canada finally bounced back nicely with commodities doing well in July. Out in the Pacific, pretty much everything outside of Japan bounced back nicely. And Latin America once again had a down month:

So what's in store for August? What sectors are going to lead the way? Which ones will struggle? Which asset classes will money flow into as we finish up the summer and get ready for the big leagues in Septemeber?

These are the questions that I think about constantly. What are you guys thinking about?

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