S&P 500 performance

With the S&P 500 seemingly reaching record highs almost every day at the moment, are others also holding off buying units of S&P 500 ETFs (and other US/US-related stocks)?

Is this “market timing”, or just being prudent in the face of what feels like an almost inevitable correction at some point?

Market timing. Just because you think there will be a correction doesn’t make it so. It can also just go further. Use dollar cost averaging.

I’ve been quite dovish about the future uptrend of Equities. Having said that I’ve not seen anything to suggest a correction yet.

Two big factors - Trump & China. The US employment market is strong and the the economy is doing well.
On the face of it a deal with China is coming. But the US election will trigger a reaction. Volatility is a traders dream :crazy_face:.

I have a fair chunk in cash from some investments I sold which I will drip feed going forward. If the markets correct then the size of the drip will get better.

I think UK stocks will have a good year.

It all depends on what your goals are. Dollar cost averaging only works if you intend to hold the funds for decades to come. To recover from a 90% fall requires a 900% gain. Do not feel compelled to invest if it does not align with your personal risk appetite.

2 Likes

And there is the old FOMO. Whilst everyone is gloating about their gains over the last couple of years it can make investing seem so simple. It has been since Trump was elected and it has been easy to make gains. Just have a plan and stick to it.

I’ve stopped buying the S&P for the time being. Not because I see myself as timing the market, I just see better value elsewhere with companies within the FTSE 100 and 250.

I can’t remember who said it but there’s a quote about not buying at all time highs by a famous investor and it’s something that resonated. I’ll have a look and see if I can find it.

From 2016 → today there has been approx. 130 days with record closes for the Dow. If you stopped buying at record highs in 2015 you’d have missed out on a fair amount …

Also I can only invest so much each month so I have to pick something :man_shrugging:t3::joy:

A general uptrend from here but the key action looks to be around 2900 where there was previous support and resistance. Definitely looks bullish but with the economic news at the moment that could easily change. Thoughts?

Individual stock picks and active fund managers to outperform and passive indexes to struggle in the volatility.

It’s anyone’s guess as to the extent that historical data can help with a unique situation, but here’s a bunch of it:

Keynes: “The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.”

  • The S&P 500 hit an all-time closing high of 3,386 on February 19.
  • In just over a month, it then fell 34% to 2,237.
  • It quickly rebounded by 16% over the next eight days to 2,585 on March 31.
  • Including the month of April it has risen 641 points or 29%, and from its all-time high it is only down 15%.

Meanwhile earnings are generally projected to go down.

Any guesses where the S&P 500 is heading next?

This chat is setup for anything to do with the S&P 500 Index and US companies, feel free to add anything to this in regards to the S&P 500.

1 Like
1 Like

Not directly S&P, but just about the US dollar.