Investment Review - June 2016
- In May, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially flat, up less than 0.1%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 3.6% and the S&P 500 increased 1.5%. The MSCI Europe, Australia, Far East (EAFE) index fell -1.5% while the MSCI Emerging Markets index dropped -3.9%.
- Short-term interest rates increased on renewed speculation the Federal Reserve would raise the target federal funds rate in either the June or July meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
- The U. S. dollar, after falling -5.7% in 2016 through April, rebounded in May +2.9% on better economic data and expectations of Federal Reserve tightening sooner than previously expected. Not surprisingly, gold sold-off. At the same time, the price of crude oil increased; although, the supply outages in Alberta no doubt contributed to the increase.
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