Most of the major asset classes continued to rally in July, led by a surge in commodities based on a set of ETFs. US bonds, by contrast, remained the outlier, posting a third straight monthly loss.
Commodities stole the show in July. The iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (NYSE:) rose 10.8%, well ahead of the rest of the field, delivering its best monthly gain in a year and a half. The fund ended the month at its highest close since January.
![GSG Weekly Chart GSG Weekly Chart](https://d1-invdn-com.investing.com/content/pic62d4858049cce77a2a55360570825943.png)
GSG Weekly Chart
Most markets around the world rallied in July, including emerging markets stocks (), which posted the second-best performance (+5.9%) for the major asset classes. US shares () also participated in last month’s upswing with a solid 3.7% gain.
The odd man out: US bonds () struggled in July, again, edging down 0.1%. Despite the recent weakness in US fixed income, all the major asset classes are now posting gains year to date.
![Total Returns Total Returns](https://d1-invdn-com.investing.com/content/pic33244034747ac5acc8aeb41af4067705.png)
Total Returns
The Global Market Index (GMI) kept pace with the widespread advances in July, rising 2.9%. This unmanaged benchmark (maintained by CapitalSpectator.com) holds all the major asset classes (except cash) in market-value weights and represents a competitive benchmark for multi-asset-class portfolios.
GMI is currently sitting on a strong 14.8% increase year to date – ahead of all its component markets except for US shares (VTI) and foreign developed-markets stocks ().
Reviewing GMI’s performance in context with US stocks (VTI) and US bonds (BND) over the past year reflects a bullish run. GMI is up more than 10% over the past 12 months, moderately behind VTI’s 14.1% increase but far ahead of the bond market’s weak 3.2% decline via BND.
![GMI vs US Stock and Bond Markets GMI vs US Stock and Bond Markets](https://d1-invdn-com.investing.com/content/pic31b2b3c07dfa7a6fd813923db2577b75.png)
GMI vs US Stock and Bond Markets