Source: Financial Times, 9th May 2011

The most surprising thing about the market this year is not that the S&P 500 had its best first quarter since 1998. It is that only two of the S&P sectors outperformed the broader index in the first quarter: energy and industrials. The last time this happened was in the first quarter of 2000, as the tech bubble was peaking. While the US stock market was strong in the first quarter of 2011, it was also quite narrow, not usually a healthy sign, especially when the leaders have by and large led the market for the past 10 years.