Friday’s impressive stock market rally capped a ninth year of gains without a 20% correction that commonly defines a bear market. Via Nova pulled together some interesting facts about the current bull market as well as some added points of interest.
· U.S. equities led the stock market advance. The S&P 500 Index increased 312% between the market bottom on March 9, 2009 and March 9, 2018.
· Demonstrating the value of dividends, the S&P 500 including dividends posted a 398% total return.
· Small-cap stocks enjoyed an even more impressive ride, as the Russell 2000 gained 426% including dividends.
· International stocks also rose during the period, but the MSCI EAFE Index returned a more modest 201%.
· Emerging market stocks also got off to a relatively slow start in the current bull market. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index increased 217%.
· The duration of the current bull market stands at 108 months (2,385 days) and counting, the second longest bull market since 1900, according to data compiled by NDR. The longest bull market was 10/11/1990-7/17/1998 (2,836 days).
· Crandall, Pierce & Co. calculated the average frequency of S&P 500 declines since 1945. Via Nova calculated the number of S&P 500 points and Dow Jones Industrial Average points for each percent threshold, based on the March 9, 2018 close.
