March 4, 2024

Equities were broadly up in February, led by the NASDAQ – surpassing the November 2021 high – followed by the small cap Russell 2000 index. The S&P 500 also finished higher in February, closing above the 5000 mark for the first time on February 9th, with subsequent new all-time highs throughout the month. While rate cut expectations have been pushed out, they are still broadly expected – expectations now match the Federal Reserve’s December SEP guidance – and the data continue to support the disinflation narrative. Artificial-intelligence stocks seem to be the preferred risk category within the S&P 500 Index, however, Industrials (+7.2%) and Materials (+6.5%) actually outperformed the Information Technology sector (+6.3%).  Utilities (+1.1%) and Consumer Staples (2.2%) were the lagging S&P sectors.  Growth was the clear winner across all market-cap ranges in February.