February 2025 Market Review: Key Insights and Highlights

February 2025 has been an eventful month for the markets, with several key factors influencing the financial landscape. As I write this post after-market on the last day of February, it appears that the market will close out the month down by over 1%. The S&P 500® TR Index was down -2.86% for the month through yesterday before posting a return over 1.5% today. This likely brings the S&P 500®, which was down 0.15% year-to-date through yesterday, into slightly positive territory for the year.

Let me break down the main themes and events that have shaped the markets so far this year in a way that's easy to digest and understand.