Chart for the Day: Three in a row

It's a struggle for stocks when day-to-day volatility persists

Three days in a row with the S&P 500 moving 1% or more in either direction isn’t noteworthy in a broad historical context. But over the past 15 months, that’s about as much quiet as we’ve gotten before volatility has returned.

Why it Matters: Bull markets are characterized by slow and steady progress higher and new highs consistently exceeding new lows. 2017 was a great example of this pattern. That year, new highs exceeded new lows on 90% of the trading days and the S&P 500 moved 1% or more only 3% of the time.

Now, however, we are seeing bear market behavior persist as new lows again exceed new highs and the market struggles to even go a whole week without big price swings in the S&P 500. 2023 looks looks more like a continuation of 2022 than the start of something new.