Stocks managed to perform surprisingly well in the first quarter despite the double whammy of hawkish talk from the Fed and turbulence in the banking system. However, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. In early February, the S&P 500® Index was up 9% and looked to be on its way to a swift recovery from 2022 losses. However, this proved too good to be true, as recession fears ultimately resurfaced and prompted stocks to decline from early February to mid-March. After a late-March rally, the S&P 500 and Russell 2000® Index finished the quarter up 7.5% and 2.7%, respectively. Growth-oriented areas like technology (up 21.8%) dramatically outperformed more cyclical sectors such as energy (down 4.7%) and financials (down 5.6%) as recession risks grew.