US stocks end volatile May roughly unchanged

The blue-chip S&P 500 stock index ended the month of May with a marginal 0.01 per cent gain, following weeks of tumultuous trading as investors questioned the trajectory of US inflation, growth and Federal Reserve policy.

Wall Street stocks have whipsawed in May due to economic data and corporate earnings that have thrown doubt over the health of the US economy. Grim forecasts from retailers Walmart and Target suggested that consumers…