The Financial Post reports in its Friday, May 2, edition that global trade concerns are causing synchronized movements in U.S. equities, making it difficult for stockpickers to navigate an unpredictable market. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that as of April 30, the correlation among S&P 500 stocks was 0.6, significantly higher than the average for this time in earnings seasons since 2011. Typically, earnings season allows for more individual stock movement based on company performance, but fears about tariffs affecting profits and the global economy are dampening those fluctuations. Consequently, only 38 per cent of large-cap fund managers are outperforming their benchmarks for the month ending April 28, down from 54 per cent in the previous quarter, according to Morningstar Direct data. Susquehanna's Chris Murphy says: "Elevated correlation has persisted, driven by the outsized influence of macro forces -- including tariff headlines, central bank guidance and key data points. Markets remain tightly tethered to macro signalling, limiting the usual dispersion we'd expect from earnings beats and misses." Historically, correlations begin falling three weeks before the start of the reporting season.