Second Quarter Market Review
- US Stock Market: +3.2%
- International Developed Stocks: -0.4%
- Emerging Markets Stocks: +4.5%
- Global Real Estate: -1.4%
- US Bond Market: +0.2%
- Global Bond Market ex US: +1.3%
2024 started out similarly to 2023, with markets rising and talk of a potential rate cut. Just like like last year, those expectations remain unfulfilled, as inflation dipped lower but stayed above 3%. US stocks found record highs in the year’s first half, and the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield neared 5% before retreating.
The Fed held the federal funds rate, steady at 5.25% during the June meeting, the highest level in more than two decades. The European Central Bank cut rates for the first time since 2019. US core inflation was 3.4% in May, a multiyear low but above the Fed’s 2% target.
US stocks extended a bull market that began in late 2022. As long as investors demand positive returns in exchange for equity investments, a new market high shouldn’t necessarily be a warning sign that it’s a poor time to invest new money.