FYI: The S&P 500 (SPY) gained 7% on a total return basis in June, leaving it up 18.37% on the year at the halfway mark. The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) gained 21.54% in the first half, while the Dow was more than 6 percentage points weaker at +15.18%. Mid-caps performed about inline with large-caps in the first half, while small-caps underperformed slightly.
Looking at S&P sectors, Energy (XLE) had a very strong June, but that still wasn't enough to put it in positive territory for the entirety of the second quarter. Materials (XLB) was the best sector in June with a gain of 11.57%, while Utilities (XLU) was up the least in June at +3.18%. For the first half, Tech (XLK) was up the most at +26.89%. The Tech sector was actually the best performing ETF in the entire matrix in the first half of 2019.
Outside of the US, every country gained in June except India (PIN), which was down 1.44%. For the second quarter and the full first half, Russia (RSX) was the best-performing country. In Q2, RSX gained 14.71%, while the ETF gained 26.03% for the full first half.
Oil (USO) was up 24.53% in the first half, while natural gas (UNG) was down 19.51%. Gold was up 9.86% in the first half, but silver (SLV) was actually down 1.31%.
Finally, Treasury ETFs posted solid returns across the board in the first half, with the 20+ Year (TLT) gaining more than 10%.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bespokepremium.com/interactive/posts/think-big-blog/bespoke-etf-matrix-first-half-asset-class-total-returns
