What happened in July?

Global stocks moved higher in July amid of variety of positive economic indicators. In the U.S., the Commerce Department reported the economy grew at an annualized 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, up from 1.4% in Q1. The lifted growth precedes the current earnings season which, thus far, is exceeding analysts’ expectations. As of July 28th, 57% of the S&P companies had reported earnings with 73% displaying sales above consensus. If this trend holds, it would be a new record for the percentage of companies reporting better sales figures than analysts predicted. Across the globe, economic growth in the Eurozone also accelerated in Q2 while China’s Caixin manufacturing index showed improvement. The positive data boosted U.S. equities with the S&P 500 Index +2.1% in July and +11.6% YTD. The ACWI ex-U.S., an index measuring international stocks, increased +3.7% in the month and now sits at +18.3% for the year. International equities are on pace for their best year since 2009.