Nasdaq Index Performance: June 2023
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Performance for the month of June was broadly strong across regions and sectors. Among the 107 indexes tracked in this report, 101 indexes finished in positive territory, while 6 indexes finished in negative territory. The average return across all 107 indexes was 5.4%. The Nasdaq-100® (NDX®) gained 6.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite® (COMP™) gained 6.6%, modestly above the average index gain and continuing the year-to-date (YTD) trend of Nasdaq-listed stocks outperforming. The best-performing index was the Nasdaq Sprott Junior Uranium Miners™ (NSURNJ™), which gained 18.9%. On the other hand, the worst-performing index was the Nasdaq OMX Wind™ (GRNWIND™), which fell 2.7%. Overall, there was a broadening of strength across additional sectors beyond Technology, which has been recently driven sharply higher by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). The Nasdaq-100 finished the first half of the year up 38.8%, the best first half of performance in its history since launching in 1985.
Within the Nasdaq Featured Index lineup, the Nasdaq Q-50™ (NXTQ™) was the best-performing index, gaining 8.1%, while the worst-performing index was the PHLX Gold/Silver Sector™ (XAU™), down 1.9%. All other indexes in the grouping were in positive territory, including the KBW Nasdaq Bank™ (BKX™), which rebounded from a rough few months of losses with a gain of 5.3%, bringing its YTD return to -20.5%.
Every index within the Nasdaq Global Index line-up recorded gains in the month of June, with Nasdaq Developed Markets™ (NQDM™) modestly outperforming Nasdaq Emerging Markets™ (NQEM™). In the US, Nasdaq US Mid Cap™ (NQUSM™) and Nasdaq US Small Cap™ (NQUSS™) finally outperformed Nasdaq US Large Cap™ (NQUSL™), which has been leading most of the year.
The Nordic Indexes ended the month with mostly marginal gains, with the exception of OMX Helsinki 25® (OMXH25™), which was down 1.0%, continuing its underperformance YTD.
The Nasdaq Thematic Tech Indexes ended the month with an average gain of 4.9%, continuing the strength seen in May. Fueled by optimism surrounding AI, Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence™ (NQINTEL™) was up another 3.5%, bringing its YTD gain to 37.1%. Gains extended to semiconductors, with the PHLX Semiconductor™ (SOX™) up another 6.4% to bring its YTD gains to 45.1%, as well as cloud computing, with BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud™ (EMCLOUD™) up 4.1% and ISE CTA Cloud Computing™ (CPQ™) up 5.1%, bringing YTD gains up to 26.9% and 32.1%, respectively. Cybersecurity, FinTech, Gaming, and Thematic Healthcare indexes showed generally more modest gains, continuing the trend during the first half of 2023.
The Nasdaq Thematic ESG Indexes were up 8.4% on average and mostly outperformed. Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy™ (CELS™) was up 7.1%, while Nasdaq CTA Global Climate Technology™ (CLMTCH™) was up 8.6%, demonstrating broad strength within the theme that extended down into the entire Nasdaq Sprott suite of energy transition materials benchmarks.
The Nasdaq Dorsey Wright suite ended the month with an average gain of 7.0%, reversing some generally disappointing performance in the first two months of the quarter. The Dorsey Wright Industrials Tech Leaders™ (DWIDX™) led the way with a gain of 12.6%, closely followed by the Dorsey Wright Basic Materials Tech Leaders™ (DWBM™), which was up 12.3%.
The Nasdaq Dividend and Income Indexes ended the month with an average gain of 5.7%, reversing some disappointing underperformance in prior months. The Nasdaq US SMID Rising Dividend Achievers™ (NQDVSMR™) was the strongest outperformer, up 11.6%, while Nasdaq US Buyback Achievers™ (DRB™) also notched solid gains of 9.1%.
The Nasdaq Options Indexes ended the month with an average gain of 1.8%, about in line with the previous two months of the quarter. The Nasdaq-100 Quarterly Protective Put 90™ (NQTRI™) and Credit Suisse Nasdaq WTI Crude Oil FLOWS 106 TR™ (QUSOITR™) outperformed with gains of 6.2% and 5.8%, respectively.
The Nasdaq Green Economy Indexes finished the month with an average gain of 5.0%, with both Water benchmarks outperforming Solar & Wind and the broad Nasdaq OMX Green Economy® (QGREEN™) performing best overall, up 10.3%.
The Nasdaq Crypto Indexes were up 7.6% on average, with Nasdaq Bitcoin™ (NQBTCS™) outperforming on renewed optimism for a spot Bitcoin ETF getting approval to launch in the US.
The Nasdaq-100 recorded a fourth consecutive month of gains and is now up nearly 40% for the year. On a rolling one-year basis, the Nasdaq-100 is up 32%. The first half of 2023 offered a sharp contrast in market performance to the environment in 2022, with inflation readings in the US significantly moderating, in some cases ahead of expectations. As a result, the Federal Reserve skipped its first opportunity to hike rates since the current hiking cycle began in March 2022. Now that the Fed Funds rate has increased to above 5% from approximately 0%, there is once again a positive real rate of interest in the US economy, exerting restrictive forces on economic growth in multiple sectors. Yet the broad strength in economically-sensitive areas like housing, consumer services spending, and manufacturing construction & investment – coupled with generally solid corporate earnings, unemployment at near-record lows, and continuing growth in wages – has been enough to offset weakness in other areas such as commercial real estate, non-manufacturing business investment, and consumer electronics. The overwhelming consensus forecast of a 2023 recession continues to get pushed back by some and abandoned by others. The Nasdaq-100’s performance illustrates that solid fundamentals remain in much of the economy, and with a massive new secular growth driver in AI, the probability of a new bull market has increased steadily as many of the fears of last year have receded into the rearview mirror.
Disclaimer:
Nasdaq® is a registered trademark of Nasdaq, Inc. The information contained above is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and nothing contained herein should be construed as investment advice, either on behalf of a particular security or an overall investment strategy. Neither Nasdaq, Inc. nor any of its affiliates makes any recommendation to buy or sell any security or any representation about the financial condition of any company. Statements regarding Nasdaq-listed companies or Nasdaq proprietary indexes are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors should undertake their own due diligence and carefully evaluate companies before investing. ADVICE FROM A SECURITIES PROFESSIONAL IS STRONGLY ADVISED.
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Nasdaq Index Research Team
Nasdaq
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