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United Asset Strategies Quarterly Insights: 3Q2024
Markets rose in the 3rd quarter, aided by an economy that has threaded the
needle, with macro activity moderating enough to cool inflation and provide
a path for rate cuts, but not so much that it causes a recession. Exhibit 1
shows that the S&P 500 gained 22% year-to-date, adding 5% in the 3rd quarter. Unlike the narrow breadth we saw in the 1 st half of 2024, a resilient economy alongside the onset of a new rate cutting cycle were the rising tides that lifted all boats, with 2/3rds of S&P 500 stocks outperforming in the quarter. To that end, we saw increased participation for the typical stock, as seen in the S&P 500 Equal Weight, and a reversal in leadership, with nonMagnificent 7, SMID-Cap and Value stocks beating Magnificent 7, LargeCap and Growth stocks. Bonds were also up, as seen in the Bloomberg US Agg., with Treasuries firmer and the 10-year less 2-year Treasury yield curve steepening, ending the quarter at +15bps after being inverted since 2022.