Equities posted their first winning month of 2022, with the S&P 500 gaining 3.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 3.5%. Utilities led the way in sector performance, rising 10.3%. All sectors with the exception of Financials ended March in the black, and even Financials slipped by only 0.1%. For the year, however, the S&P 500 is down 4.6% while the NASDAQ has fallen 9.0% year-to-date.
Treasury yields continued roaring higher as the Federal Reserve confirmed a series of rate hikes would be coming down the pipe. Most notably, multiple inversions have appeared in the yield curve, with the 3-Year and 5-Year rates rising beyond the 10 and 30-Year yields, the latter pair of which fell slightly in late March. Once again, the 2-Year posted the largest month-over-month yield increase, up to 2.28% from 1.44%. Over in Germany, the country’s long-term rate fell back into negative territory temporarily but ended March yielding 0.62%, its highest yield in four years.
Surprise, surprise. Inflation rose again, now for the sixth straight month, to 7.8%. Oil remained well above $100 per barrel, and the average US Retail Gas Price was $4.33 per gallon as of month’s end. After being beaten down for a couple months, major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano staged a rally in March.
Continue reading: https://get.ycharts.com/monthly-market-wrap-march-2022/
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