US stocks broadly rise in July; S&P 500 up 3.1%

US stocks gained momentum in July, with all 11 of the S&P 500 sectors logging increases.

The S&P 500 gained 3.1%, finishing the month at 4,588.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average performed slightly better with a 3.3% rise. Smaller-cap stocks logged the highest gains, with the Russell 2000 up 6.1% for the month.

Sector performance

All of the S&P 500 sector indexes rose during the month.

The energy sector posted a 7.3% gain, the highest of any sector during July. The communication services sector gained 6.7% during the month, and the financials sector posted a 4.7% return.

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The healthcare sector registered the lowest gain at 0.9%.

Largest gains, drops in July

Zions Bancorp. NA was the top-performing S&P 500 stock in July, with a 42.4% increase to a $5.67 billion market cap as of July 31. The bank reported positive earnings for its fiscal quarter and was the third-most-shorted bank stock in June, and the fifth-most-shorted stock of the S&P 500 as of mid-July.

The remainder of the five best-performing stocks in July came from the financials and consumer discretionary sectors following generally positive earnings reports.

Equifax Inc. was the worst-performing stock on the S&P 500, declining 13.3%. The company cut its 2023 adjusted EPS and revenue guidance in releasing its July 19 earnings report, citing a weaker-than-expected US mortgage market.