May was a good month for markets in general, with growth across shares, bonds, and commodities. The S&P 500 grew by close to 5%, supported by a range of strong Q1 earnings results in the US. After falls in April, the technology sector rebounded, however more notably sectors like utilities outperformed. This is welcoming for investors concerned with the broader outlook of the US, with indices like the S&P 500 in recent times relying more heavily on the extraordinary performance of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks - Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Nvidia, Meta (Facebook) and Tesla.
On closer shores, the FTSE 100 grew by circa 2% and the Euronext 100 displayed similarly positive growth. Regarding specific stocks, Hargreaves Lansdown was one of the best performing companies in May, appreciating by almost 30% after rejecting a £4.7bn takeover bid from a consortium of private equity investors. There has been a flurry of private equity activity in the UK since the beginning of the year, with some analysts believing this reflects the latent undervaluation in the UK economy as a whole. Whether these predictions are correct remains to be seen, however in the spotlight of the upcoming elections, the UK market is worth keeping an eye on.
