Private nonfarm payrolls in the US are projected to increase 180,000 (seasonally adjusted) in June over the previous month in tomorrow’s release of the ADP Employment Report, based on The Capital Spectator’s median econometric point forecast. The expected gain is incrementally higher than the previously reported increase for May.
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June was another strong month for returns across the board. Red ink was banished among the major asset classes for the third time this year on a monthly calendar basis. The big winner last month: emerging market stocks, which climbed 2.7% on a total return basis in June–the fifth straight monthly gain for this slice of equities. Ignoring the perennially flat performance of cash (3-month T-bills), last month’s “loser”: US investment-grade bonds in broad terms via the Barclays Aggregate Index, which advanced a mere 0.05% in June.
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