Research

Capital Markets Review

February 2024

February 2024
Global equity markets posted strong results during February, as most global equity markets posted mid-single digit returns leading to several US market indices reaching all-time highs. Growth stocks outperformed the value segment of the equity market, while in international...

January 2024

January 2024
Global equity markets posted mixed results during January, with large-cap indices in developed markets posting modest gains, while smaller-cap stocks in developed markets, as well as stocks in emerging markets, pulled back slightly. Globally, growth stocks tended to outperform their value counterparts...

4th Quarter 2023

4th Quarter 2023
In Q4, most risk assets rebounded from more subdued conditions in the previous quarter to finish the year with significant positive returns—a stark turnaround compared to performance in 2022. For instance, the MSCI All Country World Index, a broad measure of the global...

November 2023

November 2023
Global equity markets bounced back in November, ending a 3-month losing streak. Most US and international indices posted high-single digit to low-double digit gains, with growth stocks outperforming their value counterparts...

October 2023

October 2023
Global equity markets pulled back in October, with most US and international indices experiencing low to mid-single digit losses. Both in the US and abroad, small-cap stocks underperformed their larger-cap counterparts, and the S&P 500 Index logged its first three-month losing streak since early 2020. Bond markets also...

3rd Quarter 2023

3rd Quarter 2023
During Q3, investors grappled with mixed signals regarding the health of the economy and the direction of corporate profits. Several factors were at play, including an uptick in inflation, a downgrade to the US debt rating, ongoing labor negotiations and strikes, and uncertainty around the funding of the US government—all of which complicated the outlook...

September 2023

September 2023
Global equity markets pulled back in September, with most US and international indices experiencing low to mid-single digit declines, and growth stocks generally underperforming their value counterparts. Bond markets also declined in September, as rates across the yield curve rose during the month, with the 10-year...

August 2023

August 2023
Global equity markets pulled back in August, with most US and international indices experiencing low to mid-single digit losses for the month. In the US, small cap stocks generally underperformed large cap stocks, and internationally emerging markets declined...

July 2023

July 2023
Global equity markets experienced positive results in July, with most US and international indices posting low to mid-single digit returns for the month. Stocks traded higher due to the release of positive economic data as well as declining concerns over US inflation...

2nd Quarter 2023

2nd Quarter 2023
During Q2, investors focused on the uncertainty of the future interest rate path and timing of further actions by the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) and other global central banks. At the start of 2023, the combination of rate hikes and quantitative tightening kept expectations for a near-term US recession embedded in many market...

June 2023

June 2023
Global equity markets experienced positive results in June, with most US and international indexes posting mid-single digit returns for the month. Stocks traded higher largely due to encouraging inflation news and optimism of a soft landing for the US economy...

May 2023

May 2023
Global equity markets experienced mixed results in May, with growth stocks outperforming their value counterparts during the month. While concerns regarding Congress' ability to raise the US debt ceiling before the default deadline weighed on investors' minds, headlines...

April 2023

April 2023
Most equity indexes experienced positive returns in April, with both US and international broad market indexes posting low single-digit returns, supported by generally strong earnings announcements and moderating inflation figures. However, US small cap and international emerging markets stocks pulled back during April, due to their heavier exposure to banks and other sectors...

1st Quarter 2023

1st Quarter 2023
During Q1, both defensive and risk assets generally provided positive returns, following a difficult environment in 2022 characterized by geopolitical risk and rising interest rates, although capital markets continued to experience...

March 2023

March 2023
Market price action, investor sentiment and headlines were, in large part, driven by the failure of three US banks, the most prominent being Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) which represented the second largest bank failure in US history. Concerns around liquidity spread causing sharp declines in market value for other US regional...

February 2023

February 2023
Global equity markets pulled back in February, with most US and international equity indices posting low single-digit losses for the month. Developed international equity indices outperformed emerging market indices, and within the United States, growth stocks outperformed their value...

January 2023

January 2023
Global equity markets started the year on a positive note, with most US and international equity indices posting mid-to-high single digit returns for the month. International equities generally outperformed their domestic counterparts, while growth stocks largely outperformed value stocks...

4th Quarter 2022

4th Quarter 2022
During Q4, equity and fixed income markets delivered improved results while continuing to experience elevated volatility. However, the positive returns for the quarter came on the tail of a year that yielded significantly negative returns for many investors. Global equities ended 2022 with...

December 2022

December 2022
US equity markets declined in December, with most US equity indices posting mid-single digit losses during the month. Developed international equity markets finished the month relatively flat, although emerging markets lagged developed international markets and finished slightly negative...

November 2022

November 2022
Global equity markets continued to rebound during November. Most major US equity indices posted mid single-digit gains during the month, while most international equity indices posted low double-digit returns, led by emerging market equities which returned nearly 15% during the month...

October 2022

October 2022
Global equity markets rebounded sharply in October. Most major US equity indices posted high-single digit to lowdouble digit gains during the month, and most international equity indices posted low-to-mid single digit gains, with the exception being emerging markets which declined during the month...

3rd Quarter 2022

3rd Quarter 2022
In Q3, hopes for easing inflationary conditions and an eventual pivot to more accommodative monetary policy dominated investor sentiment in the first half, leading to strong gains for risk assets. As the quarter progressed, however, comments from Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) members took an...

September 2022

September 2022
Global equity markets pulled back sharply in September, with most major indices posting high-single digit to low-double digit losses during the month. Recession fears, along with persistent inflation, weighed on investor sentiment and contributed to the continued sell off in the stock market. Though inflation remains...

2nd Quarter

2nd Quarter 2022
Equity and fixed income markets declined significantly during the quarter while credit spreads widened amidst a very difficult period for nearly all asset classes. The inflationary environment worsened in Q2, even as global central banks moved aggressively to tighten monetary policy. Economic forecasters gradually reduced...

1st Quarter 2022

1st Quarter 2022
Markets entered the year amid economic conditions characterized by high and rising inflation, a strong and improving labor market, and robust economic growth fueled by persistent consumer goods demand. With this backdrop, developed market central banks began the year signaling a willingness to gradually tighten financial conditions...

February 2022

February 2022

January 2022

January 2022

December 2021

December 2021

4th Quarter 2021

4th Quarter 2021
Inflation in the United States finished December at 7.0%, according to the year-over-year change in the Consumer Price Index-a level not seen since 1982. The combination of supportive monetary policy, which kept long-term interest rates low, and an unprecedented $5 trillion-plus in fiscal stimulus related to pandemic relief buoyed...

November 2021

November 2021

October 2021

October 2021

September 2021

September 2021

August 2021

August 2021

3rd Quarter 2021

3rd Quarter 2021
The economic recovery slowed in Q3 compared to the rapid pace experienced in the first half of 2021. The recovery was impeded by a surge in COVID-19 infections as the delta variant spread around the world. The surge of infections, and resulting return to cautionary behaviors in developed markets, maintained the trend of...

July 2021

July 2021

June 2021

June 2021

2nd Quarter 2021

2nd Quarter 2021
In Q2, markets were defined by optimism stemming from reopening efforts, an accelerating global vaccine rollout, continued accommodative global central bank policy, and expectations for further fiscal expansion in the US. The supportive policy backdrop and expectations for improving global growth led to a strong quarter for...

1st Quarter 2021

1st Quarter 2021
Vaccination rates in the US outpaced much of the developed world, with 28% of Americans having received a first dose of the vaccine by quarter-end compared to just 11% in the Eurozone and less than 5% in much of Asia. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations fell considerably from winter highs in the US, as the economy tilted towards...

4th Quarter 2020

4th Quarter 2020
In Q4, multiple fundamental developments reinforced market sentiment and kept many investors positioned to add incremental risk despite the relatively weak economic environment and ongoing global pandemic. Importantly, two closely watched vaccine trials from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna released promising efficacy results leading to emergency...

September 2020

3rd Quarter 2020
During the first two months of Q3, capital markets generally tracked the same trends that drove returns during the latter half of Q2, however volatility returned later in the period. After strong results in the first two months of the quarter, returns from risk assets reversed in September, due to growing concerns over a stagnating recovery and...

June 2020

2nd Quarter 2020
The disconnect between investor risk appetite and economic conditions reached staggering levels during the second quarter. These conditions were largely fueled by fiscal relief and liquidity reinforcing programs implemented by governments and global central banks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic shutdowns. The S&P 500...

1st Quarter 2020

1st Quarter 2020
The first quarter of 2020 was historic, both for markets and for the world at large, as a local outbreak in late 2019 of a previously unknown coronavirus in the Hubei Province of China morphed into a global pandemic. The disease caused by the virus, named COVID-19, has infected millions and led to tens of thousands of fatalities. In order to contain...

4th Quarter 20199

4th Quarter 2019
The fourth quarter of 2019 was a strong period for global equity markets, with representative US, developed non-US, and emerging market indexes each substantially adding to gains realized earlier in the year. Emerging markets led with returns of 11.8%, while US markets added 9.1% to calendar year returns. Credit markets also finished...

September 2019

3rd Quarter 2019
Financial markets experienced bouts of volatility during Q3 as dominant market themes from the past few quarters persisted. Market participants noted that investor sentiment continued to be significantly influenced by signs of global economic weakness, geopolitical concerns largely stemming from ongoing tariffs and trade...

June 2019

2nd Quarter 2019
During the second quarter of 2019, most global risk assets added to gains realized during the first quarter, albeit with considerable bouts of volatility tied to heightened geopolitical tensions and the evolving China-US trade dispute. Strong returns realized in April were erased in May, as confidence in the steady...

March 2019

1st Quarter 2019
Risk assets and fixed income markets performed well over the first quarter, largely driven by a more accommodative stance by the Federal Open Market Committee ("FOMC"). Indeed, the global equity market, as represented by the MSCI All Country World Index, rose over 12% during the quarter, while fixed income markets...

4th Quarter 2018

4th Quarter 2018
The fourth quarter of 2018 was characterized by a heightened level of volatility and negative returns for the majority of risk assets. Though equity markets experienced an initial decline in October, the strongest risk-off environment emerged in December as global growth forecasts, inflation expectations, and...

3rd Quarter 2018

3rd Quarter 2018
Continued US economic growth and monetary policy divergence from global trade partners drove domestic equity and interest rate markets higher during the third quarter of 2018, while international growth expectations broadly continued to slow. Geopolitical risks, particularly those driven by...

2nd Quarter 2018

2nd Quarter 2018
The US dollar strengthened significantly relative to a trade weighted basket of currencies during the second quarter of 2018, reversing a trend of weakening that began over a year earlier. This tightening dollar liquidity environment and the escalating trade tensions between the United States and...

1st Quarter 2018

1st Quarter 2018
Following a period of unprecedented market calm in 2017, the first quarter of 2018 was characterized by higher levels of volatility as investors reacted to the prospect of higher future inflation, rising interest rates and a potential trade war between the United States and China...

4th Quarter 2017

4th Quarter 2017
Price action across global financial markets continued to be driven by expectations of ongoing economic growth and generally accommodative central bank policies, with equity markets trading to record levels and global sovereign debt yields continuing to trade within recent ranges. The S&P 500 Index returned 6.6% during Q4, while the MSCI ACW Ex US Index rose 5.0%...

3rd Quarter 2017

3rd Quarter 2017
Expectations for continued global growth, as well as US fiscal policy stimulus, were again cited as the primary factors driving equity markets to record levels. Indeed, the S&P 500 index returned nearly 4.5% over Q3, while the MSCI ACW Ex US index rose approximately 6.2%. Oil markets also traded higher during the period...

2nd Quarter 2017

2nd Quarter 2017
Global risk assets continued to perform well during the second quarter of 2017, with gains broadly supported by strengthening economic data related to global inflation, job growth, and corporate fundamentals. In contrast to prior runups in risk assets, the past quarter was marked by high levels of sector and market factor dispersion...

1st Quarter 2017

1st Quarter 2017
Global risk assets rallied during the first quarter of 2017, driven largely by continued positive expectations for US fiscal policy, as well as continued improvements in global economic growth and inflation, more broadly. Duration sensitive assets, however, traded with less conviction and direction, as sovereign debt yields of developed economies....

4th Quarter 2016

4th Quarter 2016
The fourth quarter of 2016 was positive for US equities, but generally negative for international developed and emerging market equities. Duration sensitive assets also suffered as the market priced in rising US interest rates and higher inflation expectations. The unexpected result of the United States presidential election produced an initial market shock....

3rd Quarter 2016

3rd Quarter 2016
The third quarter of 2016 was generally positive for risk assets. Global equity and credit markets rallied with both developed and emerging markets adding to gains realized earlier in the year. July was a particularly strong month for equities as volatility sparked by the UK referendum vote in June subsided. Government bond returns were....

2nd Quarter 2016

2nd Quarter 2016
The second quarter of 2016 was characterized by a broad based rally across commodities, a stable US dollar, and a flight to safety on the back of the UK's referendum vote to leave the European Union. The current six month pause in cyclical US dollar strength and the corresponding commodity bounce provided support for emerging market assets....

1st Quarter 2016

1st Quarter 2016
Negative investor sentiment and economic uncertainty drove sharp declines in equity and commodity markets during the first two months of 2016. However, this trend reversed dramatically in March due to renewed optimism leading to marginal gains from global equities. Global fixed income appreciated as concern over disinflationary pressure...