The short version

Every TSP fund finished higher on Wednesday, Nov. 26. International stocks led, U.S. large caps and small caps followed close behind, and the bond and Treasury funds barely moved.

Individual funds

The I Fund gained 1.23% to $53.6008, the only fund to move more than 1% on the day. It tracks the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China index, so it holds stocks outside the U.S. and excludes China. Its five-day gain is 2.31%, and its year-to-date gain of 27.83% is still the best of any individual fund.

The S Fund rose 0.72% to $100.1863. It follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers U.S. companies outside the S&P 500. Its five-day gain of 4.37% is the strongest of the group, though its 10.83% year-to-date gain trails the C and I funds.

The C Fund, which tracks the S&P 500, added 0.69% to $108.8622. That puts it up 2.6% over five days and 17.4% for the year.

The F Fund rose 0.10% to $20.9594, in line with the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index it follows. The G Fund gained 0.01% to $19.5098. It pays a Treasury-based rate and doesn't swing with markets, so it ticks up a little each day.

L Funds

The L Funds blend the individual funds, so their daily moves mostly reflect how much stock each one holds. L Income, the most conservative, rose 0.26%. L 2030 gained 0.53%, L 2040 gained 0.65%, and L 2050 gained 0.73%. The long-dated L 2055 through L 2075 funds all rose 0.88%. More stock exposure meant a bigger gain on a day when stocks led.

One oddity in the data: L 2075 shows a year-to-date gain of 9.22%, well below the roughly 20% for L 2055 through L 2070 even though their daily and five-day numbers match. I can't tell why from these figures, so check the TSP site if you hold it.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The ETF and index figures below are from the prior session's close, so they line up with the TSP numbers only loosely.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.67% to 47,427.121, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.82% to 23,214.689. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) rose 0.69% to $334.44, which matches the C Fund's move almost exactly. That makes sense, since both are dominated by large U.S. companies.

The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) gained 0.95% to $74.61. That is the same direction as the I Fund's 1.23% jump, though the funds hold different mixes of countries, so the sizes differ. The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) rose 0.11% to $74.90, close to the F Fund's 0.10%.

What it means for your plan

A broad, quiet-to-moderately-strong up day like this changes very little over a career-length horizon. Gains of 0.7% to 1.2% can disappear in a week, and a day with nothing but green numbers is not a signal to act. If you contribute regularly and hold a mix that fits your timeline, Wednesday's results are a small data point, not a reason to adjust. Whatever you decide about your allocation should rest on your goals and time horizon, not on one session.