It has been a great year for stocks. As of July 30, 2019, the S&P 500 Index is up more than 20% so far in 2019. To put that in perspective, since WWII only seven years have been up more than 20% by the end of July, with 1997 being the last time it happened. Here’s the catch: August has tripped up many a good year, and we are on the lookout for potential seasonal weakness this time around as well.

“August has been tough on stocks historically and is actually the worst month of the year over the past 10 years,” explained LPL Senior Market Strategist Ryan Detrick. “Additionally, don’t forget this is a pre-election year. In August 2015 we had the surprise Chinese yuan devaluation, which lead to the first 1,000-point Dow drop ever, while August 2011 had the U.S. debt downgrade.” Both of those unexpected events happened in August and caused massive downside volatility.

Here are a few other takeaways to remember about August:

• The S&P 500 has been down an average of 0.78% in August over the past 10 years, worse than any other month.
• The S&P 500 has been down an average of 0.05% in August since 1950, with only September being worse.
• When it is bad, it is really bad. Since 1990, when the S&P 500 has been negative during the month of August, it was down 4.6% on average, again the worst out of any month.
• Since WWII, the S&P 500 has been up at least 20% by the end of July seven times. 2019 very well could be number eight. August was down 5 of those years and the last time it happened in 1997, the S&P 500 lost 5.7% in August 1997.
• August 1990 is when Iraq invaded Kuwait; August 1997 had the Asian contagion; August 1998 had the Russian debt crisis and Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) collapse; August 2011 gave us the U.S. debt downgrade; and August 2015 delivered the Chinese currency crisis.

We won’t pretend to know why these significant and out of the blue events seem to always take place in August, but what we will say is with the S&P 500 up 20% for the year and near our fair-value target of 3,000, we are watchful for any developments that could lead to potential market weakness.

Last, as our LPL Chart of the Day, August Has Been A Rough Month For Stocks The Past 10 Years, shows, August has been tricky for stocks, especially over the past 10 years.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

Please see the Midyear Outlook 2019: FUNDAMENTAL: How to Focus on What Really Matters in the Markets for additional description and disclosure.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual security. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted.

All indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results.

Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk in all market environments.

The modern design of the S&P 500 stock index was first launched in 1957. Performance back to 1950 incorporates the performance of predecessor index, the S&P 90.

This Research material was prepared by LPL Financial, LLC.

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