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Global markets rebounded sharply in May, excluding commodities, based on a group of ETF proxies. Otherwise, gains dominated major asset classes after the broad decline seen in April.
US stocks led the rise in May: Vanguard Total US stock market index (VTI) jumped 4.8%. This gain represents the best monthly gain for US stocks since February.
Developed markets ex-US (VEA) and US REITs (VNQ) stocks also posted strong gains in May.
The downside outlier last month: Commodities (GSG), which lost 1.4% — the fund’s first monthly decline so far this year.
The annual performance of major asset classes continues to reflect mixed results. In the winners’ circle, US stocks (VTI) continue to lead with a strong 10.2% advance. Commodities (GSG), thanks to weakness in May, was downgraded to Second place for 2024 with a gain of 9.4%. But note that gold (GLD) Continues to shine: Another monthly rise in May has pushed the precious metal’s price up 12.6% in 2024 – the best performer this year in the table below.
For 2024 losers, the deepest shade of red ink is Developed Market Ex-US Foreign Government Bonds (BWX) down 5.9%.
The Global Market Index (GMI) posted a strong rebound in May, rising 4.1% – the index’s strongest month so far in 2024. The GMI is a benchmark non-custodial index (managed by CapitalSpectator.com) that holds all major asset classes (except cash) in Market capitalization weights across ETFs and represents a competitive benchmark for multi-asset portfolios. Year-to-date, the GMI is up 6.5% – only US stocks (VTI) and commodities (GSG) have stronger rises in 2024.
For the one-year window, GMI leads by 19.3%. US stocks (VTI) posted much stronger gains (27.6%) while US bonds (BND) rose 1.4%.
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Editor’s note: The summary points for this article were selected by Seeking Alpha editors.
