Corporate earnings and signs of a growing global economy boost equities in May, offsetting falling commodity prices and geo-political turmoil

June 2, 2017

What happened in May?

U.S. stocks (measured by the S&P 500 Index) moved +1.3% in May even though the index experienced its largest one-day decline year-to-date on May 17. The S&P 500 Index is now +8.4% YTD while international equities (MSCI ACWI ex-U.S.) advanced +3.3% for the month and +13.7% YTD.

Q1 profits across corporate America increased at their highest rate since 2011 while the U.S. GDP growth estimate was revised up to 1.2%. The healthy macroeconomic data buoyed stocks while volatility remained near historic lows. The lack of stock price swings can be attributed to a number of factors, including desensitized investors when it comes to turbulent geo-political events or the absence of any substantial change in market-moving data.