From Equity Research
March was a tumultuous month for equity markets closing out the worst Q1 performance ever as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the United States sowing fear and uncertainty. As markets searched for a bottom, investors grappled with social and economic fallout from the crisis which will reverberate for years to come. Against this backdrop, fiscal and monetary stimulus spigots were opened wide in March providing some needed support for wary investors. Fear, as measured by the VIX Index, appeared to peak mid-March as the gauge broke through the 80 mark before easing to the mid-50’s by month-end. For the full month, all three major equity indexes declined with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 13.7%, the S&P 500® index down 12.5%, and the smaller cap weighted Russell 2000® down 21.9%.