Market Update
March was a very choppy month for market returns. Despite an apparent banking crisis, investors stayed the course for the most part, driving stocks mostly higher. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 led the gainers of the benchmark indexes listed here. Several sectors outperformed, including information technology, communication services, and utilities, while financials fell notably on the heels of the aforementioned bank failures. Labor remained strong, with 311,000 new jobs added. Hourly earnings rose by $0.08 for the month and 4.6% since February 2022. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% after falling 0.5% the previous month. The economy advanced at an annualized rate of 2.6% in the fourth quarter, short of the 3.2% increase in the third quarter.
International Markets
The battle against rising inflation remained at the forefront for most of the world's economies. Core inflation (excluding food and energy prices) hit a record high in the eurozone for March. The European Central Bank hiked interest rates 50.0 basis points and will likely call for a similar rate increase in May. The Bank of England added 25.0 basis points to its target interest rate after inflation in February (10.4% annual increase) exceeded the bank's expectations. On the other hand, inflation in Canada eased in February, falling 0.7 percentage point to an annual rate of 5.2%. Likewise, Japan's Consumer Price Index fell a full percentage point to 3.3% in February, bolstered by government subsidies for electricity and natural gas. However, food prices continued to rise. For March, the STOXX Europe 600 Index lost 1.4%; the United Kingdom's FTSE dropped 3.9%; Japan's Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.4%; and China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.7%.
On A Personal Note
Drew and his family spent spring break in Arizona. They visited the Grand Canyon and Sedona. His girls could rarely agree on where dinner should be, but we’re in 100% agreement with how beautiful Sedona is. Jeff, Peggy, and Luke went to Colorado to visit Braden. Did a little skiing, and thoroughly enjoyed the mountains. Also went to the festival in Leadville that has ski racers being pulled by horses. Outdoor sports activities for Chris’s daughters were a little chilly. There were multiple soccer and lacrosse games held in sub-freezing weather, but fun was still had by all! Sam and his family spent a weekend visiting his sister Olivia in Denver before she moves back to Ohio. It was his parent’s first time in the Rockies, and they were able to see the towns of Golden, Idaho Springs, and Boulder. They had a great time together and can’t wait for Olivia to be back home! Shelbi was home from college for spring break so Lisa took a week off. They treated themselves to a spa day, a couple of shopping days and went to a few of her favorite dinner spots. Last but not least, Elizabeth went to Panama City for spring break. She returned red as a lobster.
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