Despite losses in the last week of the month, the S&P 500 had solid gains in May, capping its strongest month since February and posted gains in six of the last seven months. Of the three major U.S. equity indices, the techheavy Nasdaq Composite performed best in May, up nearly 7% for its best month since November 2023 and outpaced the S&P 500 by over 2%. Through May month-end the S&P 500 was up 11.30% for the year, the second-best start to an election year on record, second to only 1928. The index set two new all-time highs in May, most recently reaching 5,321 on May 21 – its 24 record high of 2024.