Perspectives Newsletter: Q1, 2017
The S&P 500 followed up its strong fourth quarter rally by posting the best start to a year since 2013, and third best since 2000. While the broad market showed a continuation of the rally that began in October 2016, the components of the rally changed dramatically. Questions surrounding the economic outlook led to growth stocks outperforming their value counterparts by more than 5 percentage points in a reversal of fortune from last year. Perhaps reflecting some doubt regarding proposed policy initiatives intended to help domestic companies, mid and small cap stocks lagged large cap. International markets, buoyed by softer rhetoric from the White House and an improving growth outlook, shook off their fourth quarter malaise to lead the way higher.
