Third Quarter 2019 Market Update
Updated: Feb 13, 2020
Many of the main themes that have affected global asset markets in 2019 – including U.S.-China trade tensions, political uncertainty due to the Brexit negotiations, and slowing economic activity – continued in the third quarter, resulting in somewhat choppy market performance.
Nevertheless, market participants ultimately found reasons for optimism in moderate inflation, generally positive corporate earnings reports and supportive business conditions.
As a result, many global bond and equity markets posted gains for the quarter.
After reaching a new high in the prior quarter, the U.S. equity market fell sharply near the end of July and remained volatile over the next several weeks before climbing higher again.
The S&P 500 Index, an index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies, finished the period up 3.0% and with a gain of 16.9% for the year-to-date in Canadian dollar terms.