The first half of 2019 was unique to say the least...
Recall, we entered the year on the heels of an equities bloodbath in December led by the arrest of Huawei's CFO, another rate hike / hawkish FOMC meeting, threat of a government shutdown, poor liquidity, and massive deleveraging from the systematic community. Not surprisingly, the market posted its worst monthly loss since the financial crisis.
(Bloomberg)
This sparked an iconic dovish pivot from the Fed in early January, which consequently sent stocks soaring into what appeared to be a V-shaped recovery until early May