After a sharp waterfall drop in March, major equity markets advanced strong in the second quarter. Following the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s (DJIA) worst first quarter ever the index posted its best second quarter performance since 1938 rising over 17%. The S&P 500 ended the quarter up 20%, achieving its largest quarterly gain since 1998 and the best second quarter for blue-chip equities since the S&P 500 was created in 1957.
No one expected the longest bull market in history to see its demise brought on by a virus. While U.S. equity markets were able to withstand a trade war with China, a presidential impeachment, the potential for a global recession and global uncertainty including Brexit and civil wars in the Middle East, the U.S. economy was ambushed by a silent and highly contagious virus.
During the first three months of 2019, investors had a lot to cheer about as U.S. equity markets turned in their best quarterly gains in nearly a decade. This helped many of the major indexes to recoup a good portion of the losses that they suffered in the final months of 2018.
