• Both the U.S. and international equity markets saw big gains this week as Dow Jones hits all-time high.

• The best-performing fund so far for 2017 is the Neuberger Berman Greater China Eq Instl (NCEIX).

• Latin America Equities is the best-performing mutual fund subcategory based on a rolling month.

• Make sure to check out the previous edition of the Weekly Roundup to keep track of changing trends in the mutual funds space.

U.S. Equities – U.S. equity markets all saw big gains this week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.04% to close at a new all-time high at 21,638. The DJIA is also up 9.49% year-to-date. The S&P 500 had an increase of 1.41% for the week, closing at 2,459. The NASDAQ Composite Index was this week’s best performing index among the major indices and was up 2.59% to close at 6,312. The NASDAQ is the best-performing major index on a year-to-date basis, up 17.26%.

The information technology sector was this week’s top-performing area, up 3.76%, and up 22.36% on a year-to-date basis. The technology sector is by far the best performing sector YTD thanks to FAANG stocks including Facebook, Inc. and Amazon, Inc. that are up by more than 36% and 31% YTD, respectively.

Explore our Mutual Fund Education section to learn more about important mutual fund concepts.

International Equities – International markets were also positive for the week. The MSCI Developed Index had a gain of 2.38%. The MSCI Emerging Index had the week’s largest gain of 4.60% for the week. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 also saw gains of 0.95% for the week, closing at 20,119.

Commodities – The commodity sector was positive for the week. Crude oil had an increase of $2.31 per barrel and closed at $46.54 per barrel. The price of gold increased $18 per troy ounce to close at $1,227. Copper was also up for the week and increased $0.04 to close at $2.69.

Be sure to read our important tips on how to invest in the right commodity-based mutual fund.

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields all decreased this week, with the 2-year Treasury decreasing 5 bps. The 10-year Treasury yield had a decrease of 7 bps, while the 30-year Treasury yield decreased 2 bps to 2.91%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields also decreased this week. The 2-year AAA-rated bonds decreased 2 bps and the 10-year AAA-rated bonds decreased 5 bps, while the 30-year AAA-rated bonds decreased 5 bps and is yielding 2.82%. Municipal bond funds saw its second week of outflows, declining $163 million. The largest credit spread among Treasury and muni bonds decreased by 4 bps to 51 bps for the 5-year securities.

In this context, you can also read about essential tax tips for mutual funds, so that you are aware of key strategies to limit your tax burden.

The following table provides a list of the top-performing mutual fund subcategories for the previous week within the broader categories of the industry. In each of these subcategories, we have listed the top mutual funds based on the one-month return generated as of July 14, 2017.

Top-performing fund: Neuberger Berman Greater China Eq Instl (NCEIX)

The fund’s largest holding is in Tencent Holdings Ltd (HKG:0700), which is up over 50% on a year-to-date basis.

Top 5 Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis as of July 14, 2017. Only those funds that are rated five stars by Morningstar and that generated YTD returns greater than or equal to that achieved by the S&P 500 are included.

We provide this report on a weekly basis. To stay up to date with mutual fund market events, return to our News section.