Major stock indexes fell in April, ending a five-month run of gains. for the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 dropped 4.2% at the end of April from a month earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 5.0% during the month and the small-cap Russell 2000 fared worse, with a 7.1% decline.

Market analysts have said stocks were due for a pullback after months of gains. Geopolitics, rising government bond yields, inflation and monetary policy concerns are behind the recent drops, yet stocks may still have room to rise again.

Sector performance

All but a single S&P 500 sector — utilities — fell during April.

Performance within the sector was generally positive, with NRG Energy Inc. rising the most among utilities stocks at 7.4%.

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The real estate sector logged the worst performance of the month, falling by 8.6%. Just six of the sector's 31 stocks in the S&P 500 registered gains during the month. Prologis Inc. was the worst-performing real estate stock with a 21.6% drop.

Largest gains, drops

Mining company Newmont Corp. was April's best-performing S&P 500 stock with a 13.4% gain. Gold prices reached new highs in April, with some analysts predicting more room to run.

Globe Life Inc. fell the most among S&P 500 stocks in April, dropping 34.5% over the month. Shares in the company dropped by more than half on April 11 after a report published by a short seller accused the company of fraud.

Globe Life has repeatedly denied the accusations and said it would pursue options for legal action. During the company's first-quarter earnings call, executives also revealed that the stock drop caused the company to walk away from a potential deal.