US stocks largely declined in May, with eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors logging losses.

The S&P 500 gained 0.2%, finishing the month at 4,179.83. The Dow Jones Industrial Average performed worse and lost a total of 3.5%.

Smaller-cap stocks also dropped, with the Russell 2000 down 1.1% for the month.

Sector performance

Three of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose during the month.

The information technology sector posted a 9.3% gain, the highest of any sector during May. The communication services sector gained 6.2% during the month, and the consumer discretionary sector posted a 3.1% return.

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On the low end, the energy sector registered the largest drop at 10.6%.

Largest gains, drops in May

Graphic card manufacturer NVIDIA Corp. was the top-performing S&P 500 stock in May, with a 36.3% jump. The company is closing in on a $1 trillion market cap.

The remainder of the five best-performing stocks in May came from the information technology and consumer discretionary sectors following generally positive earnings reports by Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Broadcom Inc., Tesla Inc. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. was the worst performer on the S&P 500, declining 41.9%. The company missed earnings expectations for the first quarter, lowered its 2023 guidance and cut its quarterly dividend.