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…
The third quarter was ultimately a strong quarter in the stock market, albeit with several notable reversals in sentiment and stock prices along the way. In early July the Federal Reserve strongly suggested that it would start reducing interest rates at its September meeting. The Fed’s stance, along with softening inflation readings fueled the soft landing narrative allowing stocks to…