Markets were slightly lower through the first two weeks of September. Tech was the worst performing sector, which has led to some underperformance of the Nasdaq relative to its peers. The weakness within the Nasdaq has not been a total surprise.

The last few weeks have been largely mixed for equities – though both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recovered some of the month’s losses last week. Both major indices are in the middle of their worst months since December.

The first half of August was tough for equities. Through the first two weeks, the Nasdaq pulled back almost 5%. The S&P 500 fared a bit better – falling 2.72%.

The start of the third quarter has been strong as stocks have largely rallied. The first half of the year was marked by tremendous outperformance in just a few names.

Stocks were under pressure last week as the major U.S. equity indices gave back some of their recent gains. The S&P 500 broke a five-week winning streak, while the Nasdaq fell after eight straight weeks of gains.

The recent outperformance of large cap tech has finally taken a bit of a breather over the last two weeks. For the first time since mid-April, the Russell 2000 has outperformed the Nasdaq.

Large cap growth and tech’s outperformance of the broader market continued once more last week. According to FactSet, the NYSE FANG Index was up more than 5.5%. As tech outperformed, the Nasdaq gained more than 2.5% last week.

Since our last Notes from the Trading Desk, the market has essentially gone nowhere. The S&P 500 has been range bound and flat, the Nasdaq has risen slightly, while the small cap focused Russell 2000 has dropped a smidge.

April has been a mixed bag so far. The Dow leads all major U.S. equity indices as it gained a little more than 2% so far this quarter.

Though volatility has remained quite elevated, equity markets have moved higher over the last two weeks. This welcomed positive performance came despite very little easing in terms of headwinds coupled with an especially volatile Treasury market.