OUR APPROACH
OUR APPROACH
Insights
May 7, 2026
Market Highlights
April delivered a powerful rebound in the market, fully reversing the March sell-off. From the March low (which was also the year to date low) on March 30th, the S&P has gained nearly 14% through the end of April. The rally was spurred by signs of de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict which also drove crude oil prices drastically lower and eased inflation concerns. The month also saw strong corporate earnings, improving investor sentiment. April had the strongest monthly performance for the S&P since November 2020. By the end of the month, all major indices finished at or near record highs.
Of the asset classes we follow, the best performing one for the month was Emerging Market Stocks (MSCI Emerging Markets) with a 14.5% return. The worst performing was Bonds (Bloomberg US Aggregate) with a 0.1% return.
S&P groups similar companies into eleven sectors; when we look into the S&P 500's performance, we find that nine of the sectors were up and six of them were up by more than 5%.
The best performing sector was Communication Services with a 18.4% return.
The biggest contributor to this outperformance was Alphabet, Inc., which is the largest stock in the sector and had a return of 33.8%.
The second best performing sector was Information Technology with a 17.4% return. The biggest contributor to this outperformance was NVIDIA Corp., the largest stock in the sector, with a return of 14.4%.
Energy posted the worst return at -3.5%. The biggest contributor to this underperformance was Exxon Mobil Corp., which is the largest stock in the sector and had a return of -9.0%.
The second worst performing sector was Health Care with a -0.6% return. The biggest contributor to this underperformance was Johnson & Johnson, which is the second largest stock in the sector and had a return of -6.0%.
Thoughts from the Team
Believe it or not, today is World Password Day! Strong passwords are paramount to keeping your logins secure, but there are additional measures you can take to make yourself more secure online. We have both experienced and been made aware of an increase in more sophisticated scams targeting our clients. We encourage you to please make note of the suggestions below. There are signs you can be on the look out for, ways to help safeguard your log-in credentials and methods to protect your mobile and desktop devices. If you suspect any breach or attempted breach of any of your credentials, even those not associated with your Fidelity account, please make us aware so we can take additional precautions in regards to your account.
As always, please give us a call or stop by the office any time!
Be Well,
Disclaimers
The information contained herein, including summary/prices/quotes/statistics have been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Any comparison to a benchmark is for comparative purposes only and actual account composition may differ. Investments cannot be made directly into an index. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Past results are not indicative of future returns. This material is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as and may not be relied on in any manner as, legal, tax or investment advice, a recommendation, or as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to purchase or a recommendation of any interest in any fund or security. This material does not intend to address the financial objectives, situation or specific needs of any individual investor.
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