Second quarter stock returns are sure to provide welcome relief to weary investors. Additional interest rate cuts and cautious optimism for the U.S.economy pushed stocks higher, though they remain in negative territory half-way through the year. Overseas, recessionary pressures in Japan and slowing economies in Europe weighed down international stocks. The Wilshire 5000 Index, which tracks the publicly traded stocks of all companies domiciled in the U.S., ended the quarter higher for the first time since March 2000 and the Wilshire 4500 Index, which tracks mid-cap and small-cap U.S. stocks, ended the quarter higher for the first time since September 2000. However, international stocks, measured by the MSCI EAFE Index, extended their string of negative quarters to six. Bonds squeezed out a small gain for the quarter and are the only asset class to post a positive return year-to-date.
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