FL Stock Index 2012-07-01 to 2012-07-31

Summary:
Florida's stock index turned positive in July, gaining 3.38 points--or 2.21%--over June and 4.73 points--or 3.11%--from one year ago. This month's advancement snaps a two-month losing streak that threatened to erase this years gains, although the stock index remains about 2% below its level in March and February of this year. Although this month-over-month gain in Florida's stock index is welcome, it failed to outpace the S&P 500 monthly average for July, which managed to climb 2.74% higher from June. This was mainly due to the energy sector, which gained 5.5% over June--making it the best performer of all ten S&P sectors in July--and does not have a high presence in Florida's employment. However, all ten sectors did advance in July.