S&P Dow Jones Indices Market Attributes: Index Dashboard Europe

The global recovery from a chaotic start to the year continued throughout March; the S&P Europe 350 completed the month with a 1.41% total return.
Earlier in the month, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut rates and announced additional stimulus, accelerating the rate of bond purchases from 60 to 80 billion euros per month and expanding their purchases to include corporate bonds. The new ECB program begins in April; evidence for its necessity came with the month-end euro-area inflation figures still running at -0.1%.
The U.K. has suffered – and will likely continue to suffer – additional volatility caused by the uncertainty surrounding the June 23rd EU membership referendum. Year to date, the S&P United Kingdom index has a total return of 0.4% in pound sterling, but is down a whopping 6% in euros.
The state of Europe’s large banks remains a source of local concern, and European volatility measures remain elevated in comparison to the U.S.-based VIX Index.