How markets did in the first quarter
It was a great start to the year almost everywhere. It might not feel that way because it followed a bruising Q42018 and virtually no markets made new all-time highs in the month.
The major theme was the pivot at central banks to a more-dovish policy. The Fed grabbed the headlines but the RBA, ECB and BOC weren't far behind. What goes underreported is that that biggest mover was probably the PBOC. The loosening of credit in Q1 was epic and that's reflected in stock market performance in the quarter.
- Shanghai Composite +28.6%
- Nikkei +6%
- ASX 200 +9.5%
- FTSE 100 +8.2%
- CAC 40 +13%
- DAX +9.2%
- MIB +16.2%
- S&P 500 +13.1%
- Nasdaq +16.5%
- TSX +12.4%
Here's the Shanghai Comp:
