Major global equity market indexes saw mixed performance in the second quarter of 2024, but ended the first half of the year in positive territory. In the U.S., the broad-market S&P 500 Index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index garnered positive returns, bolstered largely by a rally concentrated in shares of a select few companies—but namely Nvidia—benefiting from artificial intelligence (AI). Most developed equity markets outside of the U.S. lost ground over the quarter. benefiting from artificial intelligence (AI)—most notably chip-maker Nvidia Corp. Most developed equity markets outside of the U.S. lost ground over the quarter amid investors’ concerns that sticky inflation would cause many global central banks to delay pivoting to a rate-cutting regime.

The Nordic countries were the strongest performers among developed equity markets for the quarter, led by Norway and Finland. North America also posted a notable gain attributable mainly to an upturn in the U.S. The Far East recorded a negative return for the quarter and was the primary developed-market laggard due to weakness in Japan. Africa was the top performer within emerging markets for the quarter, attributable primarily to strength in South Africa. Conversely, the Latin American market declined sharply over the quarter and was the most notable underperformer due to significant downturns in Mexico and Brazil.¹ 

Global fixed-income assets, as measured by the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index, declined 1.1% in the second quarter. High-yield bonds posted modest gains and were the strongest performers within the U.S. fixed-income market, followed by U.S. Treasury securities, mortgage-backed securities (MBS), and corporate bonds.² Treasury yields moved higher for all maturities, with the exception of 1-, 2-, and 6-month bills. Yields on 2-, 3-, 5-year Treasury notes each rose 0.12% over the quarter, while the 10-year was up 0.16%. The spread between 10- and 2-year notes narrowed rom –0.39% to –0.35% over the quarter, and the yield curve remained inverted.³

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