August was another risk-on month. Except for investment-grade bonds in the US and foreign-government fixed income in developed markets, across-the-board gains dominated the major asset classes higher last month.
The gains fell short of the full sweep of July's advances, but there was nothing subtle about last month's rally. The top performer: US equities via the Russell 3000 Index, which rose a strong 7.2% in August. The rise marks the fifth straight monthly increase and the most since April for this broad measure of American shares. The coronavirus crash in March, as a result, has