In a nice reversal from last year’s market performance when the S&P 500 Price index was down more than 19% and the bond market had its worst year on record, the S&P 500 posted a 7% gain in the first quarter of 2023 while the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index gained 2.5%.
interest rates
Against a backdrop of tightening monetary policy, heightened geopolitical tensions, weakening economic data, fatigued business and consumer confidence, atypical currency movements, an overall risk-off atmosphere for stocks through the first three quarters of this year, and U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, November 8th, investors should prepare for further volatility over the remaining months of this year.