From Equity Research
Equity markets continued to move higher in May as enthusiasm around reopening combined with widespread vaccinations appeared to overcome concerns around rising inflation. Optimism in the markets was reflected in the VIX index or “fear gauge” which ended the month at about 17 having reached a high of 28 early in the month in the midst of the uncertainty created by the Colonial Pipeline hack. For the full month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.9%, the S&P 500® index increased 0.6%, and the smaller cap weighted Russell 2000® increased 0.1%.