Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/68264
8A Daily News – Friday, June 1, 2012 They sold in May and went away, all right. With a disappointing fin- ish on Thursday, the stock market closed what was by some measures its worst month in two years. Over five dismal weeks, Face- book fizzled, a debt crisis in Europe loomed, and nobody was in the mood to buy. NEW YORK (AP) — fully over, the Dow Jones industrial average and other When May was merci- Sell in May and go away: Stocks close dismal month Wall Street done that.'' The Wall Street adage major indexes had erased most of the strong gains they built up through March and held on to in April. ''The sentiment has changed,'' said Craig Calla- han, co-founder and presi- dent of ICON Advisers in Denver. ''Any time the mar- ket dips like this, it erodes some confidence. It scares people out of the market. All of the above, May has that investors should ''sell in May and go away'' may not be sound strategy all the time — many financial advisers say it's foolish — but this year it looked like good advice. The Dow lost 820 points for the month, its worst showing since May 2010. That month, investors were spooked by a one-day ''flash crash'' in stocks when a large trade over- whelmed computer servers. This May, stocks limped to the finish. The Dow closed down 26.41 points on Thursday to end the month at 12,393.45. It declined on all but five of 22 trading sessions. 500 index dropped 2.99 points to close at 1,310.33. It fell 6.3 percent in May, its worst month since Septem- ber. The Nasdaq composite index fell 10.02 points to 2,827.34, and had its worst month in two years. On Thursday, investors latched on to a sliver of good news in the morning: May sales from retailers like Target and Macy's looked healthy, and sent stock futures higher. Then the government The Standard & Poor's offered two unpleasant pieces of economic data. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose to a five-week high, and economic growth from January through March was slower than first thought. Sat., June 2nd 50% OFF! ALL IN-STOCK JEWELRY! 50% OFF Earrings, Pendants, Rings, Bracelets • 14KT & 18KT Gold Jewelry Rubies, Emeralds, Amethysts, Garnets and more • Pearl Jewelry Strands, Earrings, Pendants, Bracelets • Sterling Silver Jewelry Silver Charm Bracelets, Neck Chains, Beaded Bracelets and Earrings ********************* -Some with Diamonds and Colored Stones, All remaining Rhythm Musical Clocks 50% OFF Gary Ramsey specializes in custom-designed and manufactured jewelry, expert jewelry repairs and special orders. Gary Ramsey Jewelers 748 Main St., Red Bluff (530) 527-0743 DAILYNEWS $1100 in Discount Coupons were published last week in the RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY … And that does not Count all the ads offering percentage discounts, two-for-ones and Free-with-Purchase offers! Don't miss a Day of it! Subscribe Today 527-2151 It pays for itself. Underscoring the crisis in Europe, the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, told Euro- pean leaders that the setup of the 17-country euro cur- rency union was unsustain- able ''unless further steps are taken.'' The Dow was down as much as 103 points and up as much as 70 before ending slightly lower. Energy com- panies were the worst per- (Except Sun. & Mon.) 10:00 a.m. - 4 p.m. - Sat., June 9th ting out the summer and early fall, when prices tend to languish. The math is compelling. From 1926 through last year, the S&P 500 rose an average 4.3 percent in the six months of May through October, versus 7.1 percent in November through April. The problem, critics point out, is that stocks move widely above and below their averages from year to year. formers for the day and the month. The price of oil, which ended April at almost $105, ended May at $86.53. Worried about Europe and the weaker readings on the U.S. economy, investors continued a stampede Thursday into U.S. govern- ment bonds, which they see as a safer place to put their money. The yield on the bench- mark 10-year U.S. Treasury note tumbled to its lowest level on record, 1.54 per- cent. The yield rose later in the day to 1.57 percent. It was 1.62 percent on Wednesday. yield was 1.55 percent in November 1945, after the end of World War II, when government price controls kept interest rates down to preserve financial stability. In the stock market, the One researcher, Larry Swedroe of Buckingham Asset Management, found that ''sell in May'' beat an ordinary strategy of buying and holding stocks if you started investing in 1960, 1970 and 2000, but not if you started in 1950, 1980 or 1990. The 10-year Treasury ''sell in May'' strategy posits that investors can make more money by sit- would have worked. Investors who bought stocks exactly according to the Dow last Nov. 1 and sold them on April 30 would have gained 13 per- cent. Investors who held on through May would have seen those gains cut in half. For the calendar year, the limp May left the Dow up 1.4 percent, the S&P up 4.2 percent and the Nasdaq up 8.5 percent. Two months ago, all three indexes were up more than twice as much. The month's most spec- tacular market blunder was Facebook, which debuted on the Nasdaq exchange May 18 at $38 a share. By Thursday's close it had fall- en more than $8 from there. But this time, at least, it COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES All makes and models. We perform dealer Smog Check starting at$ Pass or FREE retest 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. (most cars and pick-ups) 2595 + cert. Sheet Metal Roofing Residential Commercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane RUNNINGS ROOFING "No Job Too Steep" " No Job Too Flat" Serving Tehama County 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 Owner is on site on every job CA. LIC#829089 No Money Down! ESTIMATES FREE