November & December: The Final Stretch

With the month of October coming to a close this week, the S&P 500 is now ending what has historically been its worst six month stretch of the year.  From 1960 through 2010, the S&P 500 has risen an average of 6.4% during the period from November through April with positive returns 73% of the time.  In the six month period from May through October, on the other hand, the S&P 500 sees an average gain of only 0.8% with positive returns 63% of the time.  This year, the S&P 500 is on pace to end the six month period with a decline of 0.34%.

As we approach the month of November, we looked back at prior years going back to 1960 to see how the S&P 500 and its ten sectors typically perform during the final stretch of the year. 

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