FYI: Below is a snapshot of the S&P 500’s performance in 2018. After a huge gain of 5.62% in January, the index stumbled in February and March before setting out on a six-month winning streak from April through September. Once October rolled around, though, you-know-what hit the fan. A 7% drop in October provided a jolt to the senses for investors. In November, the S&P saw a small gain, but then the bottom completely fell out in December with a 12.5% decline (thus far).
In the second chart below, we show the daily percentage change for the S&P throughout the year. You can clearly see that during the two downturns (in Feb/Mar and Oct-Dec), volatility picked up significantly, while it was smooth sailing during the spring and summer.
Finally, in the third chart, we show the S&P’s average change by weekday this year. As shown, Monday has been the worst day of the week this year with an average decline of 0.13%. Friday has been the second worst, while Thursday ranks third worst. Tuesday and Wednesday both averaged gains.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bespokepremium.com/think-big-blog/sp-500-us-stock-market-snapshot-2018/