The markets were a little sunnier this month, improving on the gains they had made in March, and most exchange traded funds (ETFs) finished in brighter territory. That’s despite bad news about consumer confidence, plummeting housing prices and slower existing home sales. The Federal Reserve capped off April by making its seventh rate cut, then indicated that would be all for the time being.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 4.5% higher. The S&P 500 gained 4.8% for April and the Nasdaq rose 5.9%.
The big story in April was China, which experienced a rally. The country finished up this month up by about 16%. Asia was strong overall, up about 11%. The energy sector finished higher this month, with the oil, oil equipment and services and nuclear energy funds closing about 10.5% higher.
The strengthening dollar sparked a selloff in gold, which lost 4.3% this month.
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The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.