As Wall Street draws the curtain on a tumultuous quarter in which stocks logged a record high before tumbling into correction, investors are faced with a mountain of policy uncertainty that clouds the outlook for coming quarters.

Wall Street bonuses surged 31% last year on rising markets and a rebound in dealmaking activity, delivering a boon for the industry’s hometown economy. Some are already wondering how long it is going to last.

That is up 34% from last year’s bonus pool of $35.4 billion and the highest number since records began in 1987.

Wall Street banker bonuses rose 31.5% to an average $244,700 last year as dealmaking rebounded, but the boom times may wane as economic uncertainty rises, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Wednesday.

Holly Peterson, a journalist based in New York City, writes the Earn Your Luck column for WSJ. Magazine and contributes lifestyle reporting and topical essays to The Wall Street Journal.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% in another roller-coaster day, after being down as much as 1.7% during the morning. The reversal helped the index shave its loss for the first three months of the year to 4.6%, making it the worst quarter in two-and-a-half years.

Wall Street bonuses surged in 2024, averaging a record-breaking $244,700, according to new state estimates. That’s 31.5% higher than in 2023, according to state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. It’s part of an estimated pool of $47.