The third quarter brought more gains to equity investors. The S&P 500® Index returned 5.9% and the Russell 2000® Index advanced 9.3%. Notably, gains broadened to corners of the market other than large cap technology stocks. Year-to-date returns are somewhat staggering in light of persistent calls for economic weakness and market malaise. Incredibly, both the S&P and Dow Jones Industrial Average have been positive for 10 of the last 11 months. The S&P 500 is now up a whopping 22.1% for 2024. Other notable indices are also up nicely, albeit a bit more subdued than the tech-heavy S&P.