For much of the 2nd Quarter markets focused on the Federal Reserve, wondering how the central bank would respond to rising inflationary pressures throughout the U.S. economy. Stock performance wavered over the three-month period but ended the quarter up 8.5%. Interest rates retreated from last quarter’s post-COVID peak to settle…
Rising interest rates and inflation concerns weighed on investors in Q1, as a fresh injection of government stimulus and increasing vaccination rates boost optimism for economic growth. Energy and financial stocks continue to shine, while tech shares took a breather after several quarters of strong performance.
U.S. equity markets were positive across all market sectors during the three-month period, led by a resurgence in energy and financial stocks, two areas that had been out of favor earlier in the year. Investor optimism was lifted by a record-setting rebound in GDP growth for Q3. The S&P 500…
U.S. stocks surged during the summer months. The stock market’s strength stood in contrast to the U.S. economy, which saw a drop in growth and slowing employment gains as COVID-19 continued. September brought headwinds and broad declines for nearly all market indexes and sectors. Overall, stocks ended Q3 on the…
U.S. stocks rebounded from the swift market downturn in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bounce from the market bottom happened almost as fast as the drop in March, and renewed investors’ confidence about the resiliency of the U.S. economy. Employment and GDP reports early in the quarter…