{UAH} S & P BREAKS LONGEST STRETCH OF CALM IN 50 YEARS

S&P 500 Breaks Longest Stretch of Calm in Half a Century

 

Photo: Reuters

By

Ben Eisen

The stock market just ended a stretch of calm that by one measure was last seen more than 50 years ago.

The benchmark S&P 500 sank 0.6% on Wednesday, ending a streak of 50 consecutive days without a daily decline of 0.5% or more. It had been the longest by that measure since 1965, according to The Wall Street Journal’s Market Data Group.

During that time, investors put aside concerns about setbacks in Congressional Republicans’ tax overhaul plans, as well as escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. Instead, they continued to push stocks to fresh record highs as they focused on strong corporate earnings and a brightening global economic outlook.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.1% in intraday trade last Thursday as well as 0.7% on Tuesday, but climbed back throughout those sessions to close with losses of less than 0.5%.

Wednesday’s fall brings the S&P 500 to its lowest level in three weeks. Stocks fell early in the session alongside oil prices, which retreated as worries reignited about an oversupplied market. In the afternoon, stocks took another leg lower after Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) told The Journal he opposes the Senate Republican tax package, potentially threatening the Senate’s efforts to pass a tax plan by early December or get the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk by Christmas.

Other signs of nervousness have been showing up the market. Junk bonds have turned lower in recent weeks, with the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond exchange-traded fund falling 2% this month.

The Cboe Volatility Index, an options-based measure of expected stock market swings, climbed 13% on Wednesday to 13.13, its highest level since August.

Still, by historical standards, the market remains quite calm. The S&P 500 is down just 0.7% so far this week. If it finishes the week without a 2% decline, it would mark its 62nd consecutive week without such a move lower, the longest such stretch since 1965, according to the Journal’s Market Data Group.

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