April Market Commentary: In Like A Lamb, Out Like a Lion?

Apr 05

March Recap and April Outlook

Ukraine’s fierce response to and subsequent repulsion of Russian troops surprised everyone, not least Vladimir Putin. As March came to a close, negotiations were beginning to be more realistic, and the evidence on the ground was that Russia was retreating and reassessing.

The Federal Reserve held the monthly FOMC meeting and raised the key short-term interest rate by 25 basis points. What wasn’t expected was Fed Chairman Powell’s subsequent remarks about the pace of rate increases. Powell has worked to be transparent and proactive in communicating the Fed’s intentions.

The change in the pace of rate increases was clear in his language that “There is an obvious need to move expeditiously to return the stance of monetary policy to a more neutral level, and then to move to more restrictive levels if that is what is required to restore price stability.”

Markets interpreted that to mean that 50 basis... ...