Q2 Recap: Markets Get Back on Track

Technology drove strong US returns. Emerging Markets lead global returns, despite negative Chinese returns. Strong earnings have allowed market to climb the “wall of worry”. In financial markets, there is a concept known as “the wall of worry.” Put plainly, this concept describes how markets often see past short-term concerns to post positive returns, essentially climbing over the proverbial wall of worry. The second quarter was a great demonstration of this concept, as geopolitical and global macro concerns were not enough to stop global stocks from rebounding and posting strong returns. This rally has gained even more steam as the Iranian conflict appears to be clearing up, and oil markets have responded accordingly. With this background let’s take a deeper dive into Q2 returns. Source: Factset, Morningstar. Data as of June 30, 2026. Chart shown for illustrative purposes only. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Not indicative of RiverFront portfolio performance. See disclosures at the end of this publication for description of asset classes and the indices for which the returns above are based. Returns above do not reflect any fees or costs associated with investing in the applicable asset classes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. US Sectors: Technology Back in a Big Way Table 2 (below) shows US sector performance. Technology was the leader by a wide margin, after posting close to a double-digit negative return last quarter. As we discussed in our most recent earnings recap , Technology earnings have continued to be very strong, driven by AI spending and efficiency gains. Similarly, the Industrials sector had a strong quarter, riding similar tailwinds as the Technology sector. At the bottom of the returns table sits Energy. In the first quarter, the Energy sector was able to generate market-leading returns with oil pri...