Stocks sank early this year on a wide range of macroeconomic concerns. Following a minor drop at the start of the war in Ukraine, global equities rebounded sharply. Since last summer, though, bonds have heavily sagged as monetary policy makers targeted inflation. Though stocks were broadly weak in the quarter, less-expensive names (Value stocks) strongly outperformed.

Fixed income markets provided the relatively stability that is their characteristic over the past year, and even protected against some of the February drop in stocks, but bond prices broadly sank nonetheless as interest rates rose against soaring inflation. Negative price trends hastened in the first quarter as investors moved to get ahead of central bank efforts to tame rampant and still-growing inflation.