Market Commentary: Second Quarter

Market Commentary Q2 2018

After a very tumultuous first quarter, the second quarter of the year seemed pretty tame.  The talk of tariffs and diplomatic meetings with North Korea dominated most of the financial headlines, while the major stock indexes bounced around near zero for the year.

The U.S. stock market represented by the S&P 500, and international stock market represented by the Europe, Australia, Far East (EAFE) Index had a bit of role reversal from the first quarter. The S&P 500 was up 3.43% for the quarter, while the EAFE lost 1.24%. The biggest gains for the quarter were in small U.S. companies. The Russell 2000 Index, which represents the smallest 2000 U.S. companies, was up 7.75% for the quarter.

The Federal Reserve increased the federal funds rate ¼ of a percent to a range of 1.75% to 2.0%. This interest rate increase was highly anticipated, and the announcement did not shake the bond or equity markets.  The Barclays U.S. Govt. Credit 1-5 Index was slightly positive for the quarter, ending up 0.17%.

In other news, Petersen Hastings was recognized as one of the Top 300 U.S. Registered Investment Advisors by Financial Times.Of the eight Washington firms that made the list, Petersen Hastings was the only one from Eastern Washington!