Brushing off the “sell in May and go away” mantra, equities and stock exchange traded funds generated respectable monthly gains, with the S&P 500 breaking above the 1,900 level for the first time.
Over the past month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.0%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite increased 3.5% and the S&P 500 rose 2.2%.
Top performing non-leveraged ETFs over May include the EGShares India Small Cap ETF (NYSEArca: SCIN) up 22.4%, Market Vectors India Small-Cap Index ETF (NYSEArca: SCIF) up 22.3% and EGShares India Infrastructure Index Fund (NYSEArca: INXX) up 19.5%.
India’s equity markets surged as the business friendly Bharatiya Janata Party won the general elections. Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi was brought into office on a platform of economic reforms that many believe will bolster smaller businesses, along with the infrastructure and banking sectors. [Small-Cap ETFs to Play India’s Post-Election Growth Opportunity]
However, India small-cap ETFs were giving back some of the earlier gains as the initial euphoria faded and investors looked for concrete action from the new administration. [India Small-Cap ETFs Slump After Election Rally]
The worst performing non-leveraged exchange traded products over the past month include the C-Tracks on Citit Volatility Index ETN (NYSEArca: CVOL) down 19.9%, iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEArca: VXX) down 16.3% and ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (NYSEArca: VIXY) down 16.3%. [VIX ETFs Reveal a Complacent Market]
The equities market was stuck in sideways as mixed economic data kept stocks from breaking out.