Monthly Market Review: Is This A Bubble?

Market Overview - The S&P 500 is perceived as expensive, but earnings growth may justify high valuations if it continues [2] - The concentration of the S&P 500 index is notable, with the top 10 holdings representing 40% of the index, similar to historical levels [2] - The current bull market is characterized by a significant run in large-cap stocks, while small and mid-cap stocks have lagged [7] Commodities - Precious metals have seen substantial gains this year: Gold (+51.3%), Silver (+64.7%), Platinum (+73%), Palladium (+59.1%) [16] - The S&P GSCI commodity index is only up 1.3% due to the significant weight of crude oil, which is down 15% [14] - Other commodities like coffee (+22.6%) and cattle (+21.9%) have performed well, indicating a mixed performance across the sector [16] Real Estate - Domestic real estate has struggled with the DJ US Real Estate index up just 3.8%, while international real estate has outperformed at +20.7% [18] - The recent Fed rate cut did not positively impact long-term rates, which have increased by about 15 basis points since the last meeting [18] Fixed Income - Bonds have produced positive returns for the third consecutive year, with corporate bonds being the second-best performing domestic bond index [20] - International bonds, particularly emerging market bonds, have performed well, benefiting from currency gains [20] International Markets - Non-US markets have outperformed US markets significantly, despite the imposition of tariffs by the US [9][11] - The outperformance may be attributed to capital flows and a perceived risk associated with the US dollar [11]