In May, the Federal Reserve said that there was no real reason to depart from a “wait and see” policy on interest rates. At the time, the economy was growing at a steady rate, job growth continued to be strong, and inflation was stubbornly but not yet dangerously low.

The S&P 500 delivered 17.5 percent in total returns this year through April 30, 2019,[1] continuing robust performance from the first quarter.

The first quarter of 2019 was a big one for equities – and an interesting one for sentiment.