Perspectives Newsletter: Q3, 2019
The market managed to build on the strongest first half year since 1997 to post a modest +1.7% gain, but underlying that gain was a quarter of turmoil. Stocks raced out of the gate in July to set new all-time highs for the S&P 500. August witnessed a reversal in fortune, with renewed trade concerns weighing on market sentiment. As tensions eased and the Fed cut in September, stocks managed to stage a rebound to end the quarter in the black. What was notable about the September rebound was a change in leadership. Value stocks, long a laggard in the 10-year bull market, led the market higher in the final month of the quarter with energy stocks the best performer. Even with the rebound, though, value stocks still finished behind their growth peers for the quarter. In other leadership changes during September, small cap and international outperformed. The strong month was not enough to lift either group into positive territory for the quarter, though, as the deteriorating global growth outlook weighed more heavily on them than on larger cap domestic equities.
