The markets closed out their most bruising first half of a year in decades, fueled by accelerating inflation and rising interest rates. Few sectors of the market were left unscathed. The S&P 500 index fell 21%, suffering its worst first half of a year since 19701. Normally a stable asset class, investment-grade bonds, as measured by the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond exchange-traded fund, lost 11%, posting its worst start to a year in history. Stocks and bonds in emerging markets declined, hurt by slowing growth. About the only thing that rose in the first half was commodities prices, most notably oil prices, which surged above $100 a barrel.

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