The first quarter of 2021 kept investors on their toes as it served up surging yields, an accelerated rotation into cyclical stocks and wild rides in the shares of GameStop that brought the retail investors of WallStreetBets into the public eye.
Many investors believe the move will continue - Goldman Sachs sees the yield at 1.9per cent by the end of 2021, while TD Securities expects yields to rise to 2per cent.The move"is happening, we believe, for the right reasons," said Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, head of iShares investment strategy, Americas at BlackRock.
A strengthening dollar could weigh on the profits of U.S. multinational companies and spell bad news for the recent commodities rally that has pushed up prices for everything from oil to copper and iron ore.Expectations of a U.S. economic revival have boosted the so-called reopening trade in recent months, fueling rallies in the shares of banks, energy companies and other areas that have for years lagged behind growth and technology stocks.
Hiccups in the U.S. reopening effort, however, could reinvigorate the appeal of tech, sending investors back to the stocks that have led markets higher for years.The quarter also marked a much-awaited drop in investors' expectations for stock market gyrations. The Cboe Volatility Index - known as Wall Street's fear gauge - recently traded just below 20, down from a near-record of 85.47 a year ago.