The First Quarter of 2014 came to a conclusion on Monday with a strong session for equities on the day. The broader outcomes over the course of Q4 were quite a bit different than the primary trends of 2013, however. Commodities were the strongest asset class in Q1 for instance, with the Greenhaven Commodity Fund [GCC] up nearly 10%. By contrast, in 2013 this equal-weighted commodity benchmark fell -10.86% as this was generally the weakest of all major asset classes. Equity indices were mixed this quarter, with US benchmarks performing a bit better than Non-US equities, with neither continuing the torrid performance pace that allowed the S&P 500 to gain more 29.6% last year.
Within the US market the sector “winners” were a diverse group, with Precious Metals, Semiconductors, Drugs and Biotechs all registering double-digit gains in Q1, while Real Estate and Electric Utilities only narrowly missed that performance mark. We’ll take a closer look at Q1 performance across the major asset classes later this week, but the table below offers a summary of how some of the major indices fared in the first three months of 2014.
