Global equity markets advanced steadily through the third quarter, supported by a combination of constructive policy developments, resilient economic fundamentals, and stronger-than-expected corporate earnings results. A key tailwind was the improvement in trade policy visibility. The U.S. secured agreements with several trading partners on terms that were considerably less restrictive than initially anticipated, easing concerns about a protracted global trade…
As readers may recall, U.S. stocks closed out the first quarter on a weak note, with the S&P 500 down about 4%, driven by a bout of concern over AI spending and premonitions that the Trump administration may not be as business friendly as many investors had hoped. At the beginning of the second quarter, President Trump announced wide-reaching tariffs…
It has been a rocky start to the year overall for U.S. equities. The S&P 500 rallied about 5% to a new all-time high by February 19th, only to retreat nearly 10% over the next several weeks. By the quarter’s end, the index was down 4.3% year-to-date and since then has fallen further with historic levels of volatility. In our…
U.S. equity markets posted a strong 2024, with the S&P 500 frequently hitting new all-time highs throughout before tapering off 3.4% by year-end. Despite this the index rose 25%, notching a second consecutive annual gain of 20%-plus — a rare achievement. As has generally been the case for some time, smaller US companies and those overseas have lagged. As discussed…