April saw major US equity indices battle their way to new highs – most notably, the NASDAQ Composite, which finally broached its all-time high from the tech bubble peak late after more than 15 years. They could not hold this ground, however, as volatility in European debt markets, a Euro rally/USD decline and very weak initial Q1 GDP report (.2% growth vs a projected 1%) introduced uncertainty to markets that had been advancing with confidence. The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ indices enjoyed very modest (sub 1%) advances for the month, while benchmark treasury yields rose as demand/bond prices fell due, in part, to dramatic increases in major European sovereign debt yields. Add to this a 25% snap-back rally in oil from the 6-yr low it reached in March and you have the makings for a reassessment/repricing of risk across asset classes. We believe these movements bear close watching and encourage our clients to keep themselves apprised of the financing alternatives available to them.

Read full pdf here: CapMkts Monthly_April ’15