Valuations Have Richened, But Areas Outside of Large- Caps Remain Attractive

Amid the results of the US presidential election and resilient economic data, equities were up in November. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 indices produced their best monthly returns of 2024, gaining 7.7% and 5.9%, respectively. US small-caps (+10.9%) were among the best performers, followed by US mid-caps (+9.0%) and US growth (+6.1%). Bonds were also up as municipal bonds increased 1.7%, high yield credits gained 1.7%, and investment grade corporates rose 1.6%. Aside from broad-based commodities (+0.1%), silver, gold, and crude oil all produced negative returns, falling 6.3%, 3.1%, and 2.0%, respectively.