March was a microcosm of the first quarter. The S&P 500 made its monthly high within the first third of the month. It then traded sharply lower, only to bounce back but not enough to close higher than where it started.
Coming into February it was well documented how equity markets in the U.S. and around the world were shattering records daily. The low volatility and one-way nature of stocks led many financial pundits and high-profile money managers to claim this time is different….
January was certainly an exciting month. And as I write this column, the first couple days of February have been even more so. If it weren’t for the last few days in January, the S&P 500 was on track to annualize a return…
Go figure – one of the most volatile times in 2017 for the U.S. equity markets occurred in the last few minutes on the last day of the year to trade. Over the final 25 minutes, the S&P 500 dropped 12 points…..
