Although June was not a spectacular month for the stock market, investor activity remained hopeful. The month ended low, but the last four days showed the best rally since September 2010.

The Second Month in a Row with Decreases in All Three Indexes

June followed the same pattern as the previous month. Again, the end of the month showed an upward trend, but the numbers for the month as a whole were down for all three of the major indexes. The Dow closed at the end of June at 12,414, down from May’s 12,569 ending figure. The NASDAQ also finished down at 2,773 compared to a May finish of 2,835. The 1,320 S&P closing figure for June was below May’s 1,345 final finish. Even with this two-month dip, the market has delivered four quarterly increases in a row, and all three indexes are up for the year.

International Impacts

Foreign debt and markets continue to rest heavy on the minds of US investors. Experts in the stock market attribute the upswing at the end of June to having a temporary fix in place for the Greek debt situation. The “austerity” plan is making its way through the Greek legislature to enable this troubled country to receive a bailout package to avoid a serious default situation and stabilize the European markets as a whole.

The Domestic Developments

Within the US borders, there were also a few notable developments. Most areas saw a drop in initial claims for unemployment indicating that job losses are decreasing. In the Midwest, there was an unexpected increase in manufacturing output indicating that pent-up demand may be having a positive effect on the economy. If this is the case, the next few months may show continued improvement.

The Best and the Worst for June 2011

As always, June 2011 had some exceptional performers and some dismal losers. Here are the best and the worst stocks for each index for the past month:
• Dow – Best: McDonalds; Worst: Cisco Systems
• NASDAQ – Best: Biogen; Worst: Research in Motion
• S&P – Best: Biogen; Worst: Micron Technology

June’s Dividend Paying Stocks

The Standards & Poor’s 500 Dividend Aristocrats continued to do well in June 2011 despite the fact that the overall S&P 500 index was down. In fact, four different companies approved dividend increases in the last week of the month.

Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., trading as ETE, engages in the transportation and storage of natural gas at local, regional, and national levels. This stock is currently showing a yield of 5.6%, and the company has approved a quarterly dividend distribution of $0.625 per share, an annualized increase of 11.6%.

General Mills, Inc., trading as GIS, makes and markets one of the most famous brands of consumer food items on a global scale. The yield on this stock is 3.30% as of June 2011. General Mills has just decided to increase the dividend payments by 8.90% for a total payment of $0.305 per share.

Oil-Dri Corporation of America, trading as ODC, develops, makes, and sells absorbent products on an international scale. With a current yield of 3.20%, this company’s managing body has approved a $0.17 per share dividend payment to increase this amount by 6.3%.

Darden Restaurants, Inc., trading as DRI, holds a number of subsidiaries that operate full-service restaurants in both Canada and the United States. Some locations are fully owned while others are franchised to independent owners. Darden Restaurants has a 3.50% yield at this time, and they just approved a massive 34.40% increase in their dividend payments bringing the figure to $0.43 per share. This is the seventh straight year that this company has increased dividend payments.

Although these were the most exciting developments in the dividend world for June, the other top performers merit review.

These investment options include the following stocks:

• Sigma-Aldrich Corp from the Materials sector trading at $74.19
• Dover Corp from the Industrials sector trading at $69.09
• Emerson Electric Co from the Industrials sector trading at $57.09
• Grainger, W.W. Inc from the Industrials sector trading at $158.21
• PPG Industries Inc from the Materials sector trading at $91.85
• VF Corp from the Consumer Discretionary sector trading at $111.41
• Stanley Black & Decker from the Industrials sector trading at $73.67
• Bemis Co inc from the Materials sector trading at $34.06
• Air Products & Chemicals, Inc from the Materials sector trading at $96.45
• McGraw-Hill Cos Inc from the Consumer Discretionary sector trading at $42.40