As we closed the month of July, we used our publicly available analysis tools to place the performance of the S&P 500 index within a historical context of market performance. In particular, we wished to better understand how S&P 500 index performance in July 2025 compared to performance in July of previous years.
We start by looking at the S&P 500 index end-of-day (i.e., close) values for the month of July 2025 (Figure 1). The S&P 500 index gained significantly in July 2025, setting multiple new all-time high records (see below for details).
The S&P 500 index gained 2.17% in July 2025 (Figure 2). In fact, the gain in July 2025 represented the third consecutive month of gains for the S&P 500 index (Figure 2).
We then examined the historical performance of the S&P 500 index for the month of July. Historically and on average, the S&P 500 index has shown positive returns in July. Figure 3 shows average monthly (January to December) returns from January 1995 to July 2025. Based on this 31-year dataset, the S&P 500 has exhibited an average return of +1.36% in July.
To delve deeper into the analysis shown in Figure 3 with a focus on the month of July, we examined the S&P 500 index performance for every July from 1995 to 2025 (Figure 4). In July 2025, the S&P 500 index had a gain of 2.17%. As shown in Figure 4, there is great variability with respect to returns in the month of July. On average, however, during the period examined, the S&P 500 index has shown positive returns in July (see Figure 3 above). In fact, the observation of average positive returns for July holds true even if we extend the analysis to 1930 (not shown; see Market Index Performance).
Remarkably, ten (10) new all-time high records were set for the S&P 500 index in July 2025 (Figure 5). Six (6) of the new all-time high records were set on consecutive market days spanning two (2) consecutive weeks (7/21/2025 to 7/28/2025). Year-to-date, the S&P 500 index has had a total of fifteen (15) new all-time high records (Figure 5).
Summary
July 2025 was another very good month for the S&P 500 index. The S&P 500 index gained 2.17% in July 2025, marking three (3) consecutive months of gains for the S&P 500 index. Ten (10) new all-time high records were set for the S&P 500 index in July 2025. Six (6) of the new all-time high records were set on consecutive market days spanning two (2) consecutive weeks. As of the end of July 2025, year-to-date return for the S&P 500 index is +7.78%.
To gain additional historical insights about market index performance, use any one of our Market Index Analysis tools. We use these analysis tools ourselves to gain insights into market performance and to highlight a variety of interesting observations in our historical insights articles.
