NASDAQ Has Led Summer Stock Gains in Last Five Years

Over the past five years, the average return of the NASDAQ 100 and NASDAQ Composite during the summer months outperformed the Dow and S&P 500 .

Indeed, the average return from Memorial Day to Labor Day for the NASDAQ 100 and NASDAQ Composite stands at 4.2 and 3.18 percent, respectively. That compares to a gain of 2 percent for the Dow and 1.8 percent for the S&P 500.

• Top 2011 Stocks and Sectors

Within the NASDAQ 100, health care and consumer discretionary companies dominate the summer stock sizzlers, while tech and consumer discretionary stocks have been the worst performers.

The table below includes companies in the NASDAQ 100 with the best average returns over the past five summers. All of the top ten stocks below are up year-to-date, led by Wynn Resorts with a gain of 40 percent.

Only eleven companies in the NASDAQ 100 have an average negative return from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Source: CNBC Analytics

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