2026 Mid-Year Market Review

The first half of 2026 was a story of resilient markets overcoming a series of unexpected risks. Geopolitical conflict in the Middle East, a sharp rise in energy prices, and renewed inflation concerns led to significant volatility for portfolios and uncertainty for investors early in the year. However, improving market fundamentals, including broadening corporate earnings, solid economic growth supported by healthy consumer spending and business investment, and an improving labor market, helped stabilize sentiment and drive a recovery in markets as geopolitical risks began to ease towards midyear.