
The behavior of equity markets in the first quarter of 2019 was nearly the mirror image of the fourth quarter of 2018. Global equities rallied strongly with U.S. stocks leading the way, reversing the sharp U.S.-led downturn in the fourth quarter. After falling by -13.52% in the fourth quarter of last year and by -4.38% for all of 2018 including dividends, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index returned +13.65% in the first quarter of 2019, its best quarterly return in ten years. The S&P 500 ended the quarter just 3.3% shy of its all-time closing high established on September 20, 2018.