[Certified Financial Group]

Encouraging economic news, generally positive Q2 corporate earnings reports, and stable Federal Reserve policy had to battle multiple geopolitical conflicts for investor attention. Both the S&P 500 and Dow industrials managed to set fresh all-time highs early in July, but the S&P managed to follow through to additional records while the Dow slipped back under 17,000. After five straight positive months, both succumbed to profit-taking that left them under water for July. That handed the year-to-date lead to the Nasdaq (barely), while the small caps of the Russell 2000 gave up most of the previous month's gains and joined the Dow in negative territory for the year. Global conflicts and instability in some emerging markets also hurt the Global Dow.

After a June rally, gold prices slid back under $1,300 an ounce in July. A stronger dollar allowed the price of oil to drop below $100 a barrel by the end of the month. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield ended the month up slightly from where it began.


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