ACG’s December Capital Markets Review

Markets finished the year in a strong rally that began in November on hopes that an economic soft landing is materializing and that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting rates in 2024.
The S&P 500 was up +4.54% in December to finish the year just below its all-time high.
The Real Estate sector enjoyed a strong December after some stress earlier in the year and rose +8.48% for the month. Information Technology led the way in 2024 with a return of +57.84%.

Value stocks ended the year on a relatively high note with the Russell 1000 Value gaining +5.54% in December compared to +4.43% for the Russell 1000 Growth. Growth names dominated the full year by gaining +42.68% compared to +11.46% for Value.
Developed International and Emerging Markets equity enjoyed strong absolute performance for the month and year. The MSCI EAFE Index was up +5.31% in December and +18.24% for the year while the MSCI Emerging Markets index rose +3.91% for the month and +9.83% for the year.
Fixed income markets shifted to pricing in a Fed pivot to rate cuts in 2024 resulting in the 10-year treasury yield falling from 4.33% to 3.88% in December. The Bloomberg Aggregate U.S. Bond Index was up +3.83% for the month and finished the year up +5.53%.

Download the full report HERE to see index returns and more.