The month of July has historically been better than June for the equities market, but some areas and sector exchange traded funds can be left behind.
According to analytics firm Kensho, the month of July has averaged stock market gains across major U.S. indices over the past 10 years, reports Dominic Chu for CNBC.
However, some areas of the markets have not been able to keep pace. For instance, the S&P 500 Utilities Sector has averaged a 0.50% return over the past 10 Julys and posted positive gains in six of the 10 years, whereas the S&P 500 Index has generated an average 1.6% return and has been positive in six of the last 10 years.
Year-to-date, the utilities sector has been the worst performing area of the market, wit the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLU) down 10.7%, Vanguard Utilities ETF (NYSEArca: VPU) 10.6% lower and iShares U.S. Utilities ETF (NYSEArca: IDU) down 10.8%. [Why Utilities ETFs can Fall Further]
Telecom stocks also showed tepid growth over July, with the S&P 500 Telecommunications Services Sector averaging a 0.90% return over the past 10 years and generating a positive return for the month in six instances.