This post was originally published on this site
U.S. stocks rose in May, extending a rally that began after the coronavirus-crisis bottom in March.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.06% recovered from an earlier decline Friday, as President Trump discussed actions against China, to end the day with an 18-point decline. It closed at 25,383.11. The index rose 4.3% in May and has now risen 36.5% from its 2020 closing low March 23. It is still down 11.1% for 2020.
• The S&P 500 Index SPX, +0.48% climbed 0.5% on Friday and rose 4.5% in May. It is now up 36.1% since March 23 and down 5.8% for 2020.
• The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +1.29% advanced 1.3% on Friday and 6.8% in May. It is now up 38.3% since March 23 and up 5.8% for 2020.
Information technology was the strongest S&P 500 sector during May:
| S&P 500 sector | Price change – May 2020 | Price change – 2020 | Price change – 2019 |
| Information Technology | 6.8% | 6.7% | 48.0% |
| Materials | 6.7% | -9.7% | 21.9% |
| Communication Services | 6.0% | -0.4% | 30.9% |
| Industrials | 5.1% | -17.1% | 26.8% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 4.9% | 1.6% | 26.2% |
| Utilities | 3.9% | -8.0% | 22.2% |
| Health Care | 3.1% | 0.8% | 18.7% |
| Financials | 2.4% | -24.2% | 29.2% |
| Real Estate | 1.7% | -10.8% | 24.9% |
| Consumer Staples | 1.4% | -6.4% | 24.0% |
| Energy | 0.7% | -36.1% | 7.6% |
| Source: FactSet | |||
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Twenty-two of the 30 components in the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose in May:
| Company | Ticker | Price change – May | Price change – 2020 | Price change – 2019 |
| Nike Inc. Class B | NKE, +0.37% | 13.1% | -2.7% | 36.6% |
| Home Depot Inc. | HD, +1.36% | 13.0% | 13.8% | 27.1% |
| Cisco Systems Inc. | CSCO, +4.88% | 12.2% | -0.8% | 10.7% |
| Visa Inc. Class A | V, +0.50% | 9.2% | 3.9% | 42.4% |
| Walt Disney Co. | DIS, +0.47% | 8.5% | -18.9% | 31.9% |
| Apple Inc. | AAPL, -0.09% | 8.2% | 8.3% | 86.2% |
| Goldman Sachs Group Inc. | GS, -1.74% | 7.1% | -14.5% | 37.6% |
| Travelers Cos. Inc. | TRV, -0.56% | 5.7% | -21.9% | 14.4% |
| Dow Inc. | DOW, -0.28% | 5.2% | -29.5% | N/A |
| Intel Corp. | INTC, +1.99% | 4.9% | 5.1% | 27.5% |
| UnitedHealth Group Inc. | UNH, +0.29% | 4.2% | 3.7% | 18.0% |
| American Express Co. | AXP, -3.04% | 4.2% | -23.6% | 30.6% |
| Boeing Co. | BA, -2.65% | 3.4% | -55.2% | 1.0% |
| Caterpillar Inc. | CAT, -0.50% | 3.2% | -18.7% | 16.2% |
| 3M Co. | MMM, -0.24% | 3.0% | -11.3% | -7.4% |
| Microsoft Corp. | MSFT, +1.02% | 2.3% | 16.2% | 55.3% |
| Walmart Inc. | WMT, +0.29% | 2.1% | 4.4% | 27.6% |
| Merck & Co. Inc. | MRK, +2.12% | 1.7% | -11.2% | 19.0% |
| Coca-Cola Co. | KO, -0.87% | 1.7% | -15.7% | 16.9% |
| J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. | JPM, -2.55% | 1.6% | -30.2% | 42.8% |
| Verizon Communications Inc. | VZ, +2.97% | -0.1% | -6.5% | 9.2% |
| Chevron Corp. | CVX, +0.91% | -0.3% | -23.9% | 10.8% |
| Pfizer Inc. | PFE, +0.02% | -0.4% | -2.5% | -10.2% |
| United Technologies Corp. | UTX, | -0.4% | -27.0% | 40.6% |
| International Business Machines Corp. | IBM, +0.29% | -0.5% | -6.8% | 17.9% |
| McDonald’s Corp. | MCD, -0.61% | -0.7% | -5.7% | 11.3% |
| Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. | WBA, +2.65% | -0.8% | -27.2% | -13.7% |
| Johnson & Johnson | JNJ, +1.21% | -0.9% | 2.0% | 13.0% |
| Procter & Gamble Co. | PG, -0.12% | -1.7% | -7.2% | 35.9% |
| Exxon Mobil Corp. | XOM, +0.95% | -2.2% | -34.8% | 2.3% |
You can click on the tickers for more about each company.
S&P 500
Among the S&P 500, 372 stocks were higher in May. Here are the 20 biggest gainers for the month:
| Company | Ticker | Price change – May | Price change – 2020 | Price change – 2019 |
| L Brands Inc. | LB, -0.55% | 36.2% | -10.7% | -29.4% |
| Fortinet Inc. | FTNT, +3.36% | 29.2% | 30.4% | 51.6% |
| Dish Network Corp. Class A | DISH, +1.49% | 26.5% | -10.8% | 42.6% |
| Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. | FBHS, -0.27% | 26.5% | -6.7% | 72.0% |
| PayPal Holdings Inc | PYPL, +4.18% | 26.0% | 43.3% | 28.6% |
| Albemarle Corp. | ALB, +0.77% | 24.6% | 4.8% | -5.2% |
| Lowe’s Cos. Inc. | LOW, +1.74% | 24.4% | 8.8% | 29.7% |
| News Corp. Class A | NWSA, +3.15% | 23.6% | -13.4% | 24.6% |
| Dollar Tree Inc. | DLTR, +0.23% | 22.8% | 4.1% | 4.1% |
| Oneok Inc. | OKE, -1.58% | 22.6% | -51.5% | 40.3% |
| Ameriprise Financial Inc. | AMP, -2.48% | 21.9% | -15.9% | 59.6% |
| Nvidia Corp. | NVDA, +4.57% | 21.5% | 50.9% | 76.3% |
| Lennar Corp. Class A | LEN, +0.44% | 20.8% | 8.4% | 42.5% |
| Tractor Supply Co. | TSCO, +2.55% | 20.3% | 30.6% | 12.0% |
| PulteGroup Inc. | PHM, -1.27% | 20.2% | -12.4% | 49.3% |
| ViacomCBS Inc. Class B | VIAC, -2.17% | 20.2% | -50.6% | -4.0% |
| IPG Photonics Corp. | IPGP, +2.12% | 20.2% | 7.2% | 27.9% |
| Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. | AJG, +0.29% | 20.1% | -1.0% | 29.2% |
| CarMax Inc. | KMX, -0.71% | 19.6% | 0.4% | 39.8% |
| Baker Hughes Co. Class A | BKR, +0.73% | 18.4% | -35.6% | 19.2% |
| Source: FactSet | ||||
Nasdaq-100
Here are the 10 best performers in the Nasdaq-100 Index NDX, +1.47% in May:
| Company | Ticker | Price change – May | Price change – 2020 | Price change – 2019 |
| MercadoLibre Inc. | MELI, +2.96% | 46.0% | 48.9% | 95.3% |
| Lululemon Athletica Inc | LULU, +5.51% | 34.3% | 29.5% | 90.5% |
| Splunk Inc. | SPLK, +3.24% | 32.4% | 24.1% | 42.8% |
| JD.com Inc. ADR Class A | JD, +6.48% | 26.1% | 54.2% | 68.3% |
| PayPal Holdings Inc | PYPL, +4.18% | 26.0% | 43.3% | 28.6% |
| Dollar Tree Inc. | DLTR, +0.23% | 22.8% | 4.1% | 4.1% |
| Nvidia Corp. | NVDA, +4.57% | 21.5% | 50.9% | 76.3% |
| Workday Inc. Class A | WDAY, +0.47% | 19.2% | 11.5% | 3.0% |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. | REGN, +5.98% | 16.5% | 63.2% | 0.5% |
| Monster Beverage Corp. | MNST, +1.46% | 16.3% | 13.2% | 29.1% |
| Source: FactSet | ||||
