Each quarter we like to share our insights and observations about the state of the market.
Global stock prices suffered a sharp first quarter fall as the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a global economic shutdown. This pandemic-driven selloff, heightened by turmoil in the global oil markets, was unprecedented in its speed and severity. From February 19th to March 23rd, the U.S. stock market lost over 30% of its value.
2019 turned out to be a good year for the U.S. economy and an excellent one for investment returns with stocks bouncing back from a difficult 2018. From the beginning of the year, January’s rally helped set the tone in which the market responded to every downturn with a more sustained upswing. Along the way, stocks kept setting records – 35 of them for the S&P 500 Index, 22 for the Dow Jones Industrial Index and 31 for the Nasdaq.
The third quarter seemingly packed a year’s worth of market action into three fast moving months. Regardless of your stock market, interest rate or economic viewpoint, there was something for everyone in this fluid and volatile quarter. It began in bullish fashion as most of the major stock benchmarks jumped to all-time highs in the first weeks of July.
