Category Archives: Market Volatility

Markets had a quiet but broadly positive four-day week heading into the holiday. The S&P 500 gained +1.65%, global equities did even better, and Gold surged +7.18% — its best week in recent memory. High-yield bonds rallied +1.21%, a sign that credit spreads tightened and risk appetite returned, at least for a few days. Bonds were up across the board. For a week that could have been ugly, it simply wasn’t.

Then Friday morning arrived — markets closed for Good Friday — and the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the March payrolls report on schedule: +178,000 jobs, a strong rebound from February’s revised –133,000 and a significant beat above the Street’s ~+55K consensus. Unemployment edged down to 4.3%. Markets respond Monday.

Oil went from $67 to nearly $100 a barrel in under thirty days. That single price movement — set in motion by the launch of Operation Epic Fury on February 28 — defined the quarter. The S&P 500 fell 4.3%, its worst start to a year since 2022. The Nasdaq fell 7.1%. The Magnificent Seven shed 13%.

But the headline numbers obscure the more important story: diversification worked. Small Cap Value gained 5.0%. International developed markets fell only 1.2%. Gold rose 8.6%. Core bonds returned exactly 0.0% while equities fell. The portfolios that felt worst were the ones most concentrated in what had worked for three straight years.