Global equity markets finished the fourth quarter higher, with the S&P 500 gaining 2.7% for the quarter and 17.9% for the year. Domestically, strong corporate earnings and additional interest rate cuts supported the advance, though volatility surfaced as investors contended with delayed economic data following the government shutdown and renewed concerns about a possible bubble in the AI-trade. As illustrated…
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…