The trend for the S&P 500 has now fallen for 34 weeks in a row. That is the longest sustained decline in the trend since the Financial Crisis ended over a decade ago.
Why It Matters: Since 1950, the trend for the S&P 500 has been rising nearly 70% of the time. In the process the index has climbed from below 20 to above 4000. During a majority of this time (from the 50s through the 80s) extended periods in which the trend was rising were followed by extended periods in which the trend was falling. Downtrends started to get shorter & shorter in the 90s and outside of the bursting of the internet bubble (2000-2002) and the Financial Crisis (2007-2009) that has remained the case. Even the COVID crash came and went so quickly that a down-trend hardly had time to emerge. Outside of the two episodes in the 00s, the current downtrend is proving to be the most persistent since the late 1980s. Investors that have been conditioned to quick downside resolution and sustained advances are having their patience tested.
Our Deeper Look provides more context for the current downtrend in the S&P 500 and looks at other trends that are proving to be unexpectedly persistent.
