The S&P 500 Index of US large company stocks entered a bear market (defined as a drop of 20% or more from a recent high) in the second quarter of 2022 and then began to climb out of bear territory in the fourth quarter of last year.
The bond market registered its worst year-to-date performance on record by the third quarter of 2022, then showed signs of recovery in the final quarter of the year.
Even though there was improvement in the final months of last year, this was cold comfort to investors. By any standards, 2022 was terrible for the financial markets.
Here’s a chart of quarter-by-quarter returns for stocks and bonds in 2022: