Stock Market Commentary -
Despite the stock market's nearly 6% surge in February following a bumpy January, March brought heightened volatility, which nearly dissolved the year-to-date gains. The S&P 500 finished the quarter with a 1% return including dividends. One concern to investors is the impact of the strong dollar on earnings for multinational companies. The dollar rose 13% against the euro in the first quarter alone. Mid cap and small cap stocks with less foreign exposure rose 5.3% and 4.3%, respectively, as measured by the S&P 400 Mid Cap and Russell 2000. Growth stocks were favored over Value stocks during the quarter as Utilities, Energy and Financial stocks, which all emphasize companies in the Value arena, lagged other sectors, returning -5.2%, -2.9% and -2.1%, respectively. The best performing sector in the first quarter was Healthcare, up 6.5%, lifted by merger activity. Consumer Discretionary stocks had the second highest return, up 4.8%, as investors expected lower gas prices to positively impact this sector's earnings.
After a negative performance in 2014, Developed International stocks benefited from the European Central Bank implementing quantitative easing measures to ward off deflation and the MSCI EAFE Index rose 5% for the quarter. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index also generated gains of 2.2%. Continued strength in the global real estate sector drove solid returns for the Dow Jones Real Estate Index, which climbed 4.7%.
Please see full publication below for more information.
