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"Reports of increasing wages, a strengthening economy, and job growth in the US stoked inflation fears and set the stage for the Dow's decline of 1,175 points on February 5th, its worst ever single-day loss," says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Thirteen of Barclay's 17 hedge fund indices lost ground in February. The Global Macro Index was down 3.08%, Equity Long Bias lost 2.78%, Pacific Rim Equities were down 2.14%, and the Event Driven Index gave up 1.42%.

"Many Global Macro funds started the month with long exposure to US equities and oil markets and found themselves confronted with difficult headwinds. Seventy-four percent of macro funds incurred losses on the month," says Waksman.

The Technology Index was up 1.15% in February, adding to a 3.45% January gain. Distressed Securities were up 0.63%, and the Convertible Arbitrage Index gained 0.37%.

After a strong performance in January, most hedge fund indices remain in positive territory in 2018. Technology leads all hedge fund strategies after two months with a 4.64% positive return. Healthcare & Biotechnology has gained 3.75%, the Emerging Markets Index is up 2.78%, and Distressed Securities have gained 2.71%.

Pacific Rim Equities have lost 0.76% year to date, Merger Arbitrage is down 0.66, and the Equity Long Bias Index has slipped 0.25%.

The Barclay Fund of Funds Index lost 1.69% in February, but has a 0.43% gain year to date.