Mid-October appeared to mark the bear market trough and stocks may well move higher in December, according to Carson Group Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick.
“We continue to think the mid-October lows were the lows from the bear market, and continued good times could be coming,” Detrick said on the firm’s blog Wednesday. On Thursday, he added another blog post detailing what he said were five good signs for bulls for 2023.
December is historically considered one of the best months for investors, with the S&P 500 having its worst month in December only once, he said. Stocks are up in December over the past decade, even with a massive drop in 2018, Detrick wrote Wednesday.
When stocks are up in both October and November — the situation this year — “the S&P 500 doesn’t do quite as well in December, up 0.75% on average compared with the average December return of 1.54%, suggesting the prior months could be taking some of December’s historical strength,” he added.
The S&P 500 closed up more than 3% Wednesday, reaching a two-month high of 4,080, as stocks surged after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated the central bank would slow its rate hiking pace. Detrick posted his comments before the market close.