The S&P 500 fell just under 9% in April, registering its worst April performance since 1970. On a year-to-date basis, the S&P 500 has fallen approximately 13%, which is its third-worst start to the year ever! Only 1932 and 1939 got off to worse starts. Going back 42 years, the S&P 500 averages an intra-year drop of 14.0%, telling us that despite the poor start to the year, this is just an average sell-off, as of today. This brings us to the week ahead. With the S&P 500 near the February 24th lows of 4114, the question becomes do we get a retest and a bounce or are we on our way to making lower lows? We may not have to wait long to find out as this week is packed and starts with data on the state of manufacturing and services and ends with employment data. Between the two, we have a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates and it is expected that the Fed will hike interest rates by half a percent. What is of interest to the market is the pace of future rate hikes, in addition to the pace and timing of quantitative tightening.