Weekly Market Commentary 03/18/2016

The financial markets got a positive jolt from the Federal Reserve this week, reacting favorably to the more dovish tone sounded at Wednesday’s policy meeting. Stock prices built on the gains notched over the past four weeks, recovering all of the losses from earlier in the year and moving into positive territory for the first time in 2016. Bonds also reacted favorably, with yields on all maturities slipping a tad over the final three trading days of the week. The positive market reaction once again highlights the impact that even nuanced changes in Fed policy can have on asset prices. Clearly, nothing momentous happened at the meeting nor anything that came as a complete surprise.