After a volatile start to the quarter post “Liberation Day,” the stock market staged a swift comeback. In Q1, market sentiment was cautious due to rising policy uncertainty, concerns about slower economic growth, and questions about the longer-term outlook in the artificial intelligence (“AI”) industry. In Q2, caution gave way to renewed optimism as tensions eased, tariffs had limited sustained market impact, and companies posted stronger than expected Q1 earnings. The dramatic shift in sentiment across the quarters created two distinctly different markets.
