In the third quarter, many factors contributed to heightened market volatility that tested the patience of investors. If one simply read the headlines this year, they might have adopted a pessimistic market outlook and completely missed the 20% gain in U.S. stocks through the first nine months of the year. A few factors contributing to the volatility are listed below:
- The trade and tariff issue received heightened attention again when, on August 1, the Trump administration proposed a further increase in tariffs on virtually all China product imports. The equity markets reacted negatively to the