By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations February 2, 2026 The S&P 500 started the new year with an impressive 1.4% return in January, while the MSCI All Country World index gained even more, rising 2.9% in the first month of the year. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index had a weaker start, increasing just 0.1% in January. There were a number of geopolitical events this month including a large military operation in Venezuela, threats to Greenland and Denmark (which

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 rose 3.2% in November, building on October's gains and leaving the index up 16.9% for the year. The MSCI All Country World index rose 2.8% in November, improving its year-to-date return to 14.7%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index rose 0.6% during November, which increased its year-to-date gain to 7.5%. November was another strong month for markets as the economy continued to grow, the Federal Reserve cut rates

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 rose 2.5% in October, a strong result for a month that is sometimes called Octoberphobia due to its reputation for market crashes. The MSCI All Country World index rose 2.2% in October, improving its year-to-date return to 11.6%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index rose 0.3% during October, which increased its year-to-date gain to 6.9%. October was another positive month for markets as the economy continued to gr

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 rose 1.8% in September, continuing its record-setting pace. The MSCI All Country World index rose 1.6% in September, improving its year-to-date return to 9.2%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index rose 1.2% during September, which increased its year-to-date gain to 6.6%. September was a positive month for markets, defying the historical tendency for it to be the worst month of the year. The Federal Reserve cut int

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 rose 2.1% in August, continuing its recovery and reaching new all-time highs. The MSCI All Country World index rose 2.0% in August, improving its year-to-date return to 7.5%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index rose 1.0% during August, which increased its year-to-date gain to 5.3%. Markets continued their strong performance in August, reaching new all-time highs as the tariff situation continued to improve and ec

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 rose 1.5% in July, continuing its recovery. The MSCI All Country World index rose 1.2% in July, improving its year-to-date return to 5.4%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index rose 0.5% during July, which increased its year-to-date gain to 4.3%. Markets continued their gradual recovery in July as trade negotiations progressed and corporate earnings came in better than expected. The Federal Reserve held interest ra

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 rose 3.5% in June, further extending its recovery from the April lows. The MSCI All Country World index also rose 2.8% in June, improving its year-to-date return to 4.1%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index rose 0.4% during June, which increased its year-to-date gain to 3.8%. Markets continued to recover in June as the tariff situation stabilized and economic data remained positive. The Federal Reserve held inter

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 rose 4.8% in May, recovering all of April's losses and returning to positive territory for the year. The MSCI All Country World index also rose 4.5% in May, improving its year-to-date return to 1.2%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index rose 0.8% during May, which increased its year-to-date gain to 3.4%. Markets bounced back strongly in May as the US and China agreed to a 90-day truce in their trade war, reducing

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 fell -4.3% in April, continuing the losses from March. The MSCI All Country World index also fell -3.5% in April, reducing its year-to-date return to -3.2%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index rose 0.4% during April, which increased its year-to-date gain to 2.6%. April was a turbulent month for markets as President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2nd (Liberation Day) that were larger than expected. The

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 fell -5.6% in March, giving back most of its year-to-date gains. The MSCI All Country World index also fell -4.0% in March, reducing its year-to-date return to 0.3%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index rose 0.0% during March, which leaves its year-to-date gain at 2.2%. Markets fell sharply in March as concerns around tariffs intensified and began to drag on the economy. Consumer confidence fell and manufacturing

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 fell -1.3% in February, giving back most of January's gains. The MSCI All Country World index rose 0.7% in February, boosted by strong performance from European markets, improving its year-to-date return to 4.5%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index rose 2.2% during February, giving it a year-to-date gain of 2.2%. The stock market fell in February as uncertainty around tariffs began to weigh on investor sentiment.

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 rose 2.8% in January, which gave it a strong start to the year. The MSCI All Country World index also rose during the month, gaining 3.8%, which improved its year-to-date return to 3.8%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index was unchanged during January, leaving its year-to-date return at 0.0%. The stock market rose sharply following the inauguration of the new president, with investors optimistic about economic gr

By Chris Zaccarelli Monthly Observations The S&P 500 fell -2.4% in December, which reduced its strong year-to-date gains to +23.3%. The MSCI All Country World index also fell during the month, losing -2.6%, reducing its year-to-date return to 15.5%. The Bloomberg BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond index also fell -1.6% during December, which reduced its year-to-date gain to only 1.3%. Both the stock and bond markets fell during December. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the