March marked a period of positive returns across financial assets while the first quarter experienced mixed results that favored risk assets as traditional bonds fell. For the month, the S&P 500 Index returned 3.22%, bringing its quarterly return to 10.55%. Risk-on sentiment in the equity market was driven in part by strong corporate earnings as well as thematic trades, such as artificial intelligence, which garnered fervent investor enthusiasm. The Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index rose 0.92% in March but was down 0.78% in the quarter as U.S. Treasury yields rose quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). Commodities rose across the month and quarter, with the Bloomberg Commodity Index up 3.31% and 2.19%, respectively, driven largely by higher oil prices.
