Beneath the adrenaline rush of November’s stock-market surge is an eerie calm that points to more gains for equities investors, at least through the end of the year.
The S&P 500 Index posted an average daily move of 0.3% in either direction last week, its tamest swings in half a year, as the market lost some momentum toward the end of its second-best November since 1980. The Cboe Volatility Index, also known as the VIX, fell toward the year’s lowest levels Friday, and stocks rose after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave his clearest signal yet that officials have finished raising interest rates.
“The market can work off overbought conditions by either declining price action or via time, and thus far, the S&P has digested the big advance by slowing down over time,” said Frank Cappelleri, founder of CappThesis LLC. “The slowdown after such a strong first half of November should be considered constructive.”
To equity bulls, the price action shows that risk-on spirits haven’t generated the sort of euphoria that often precedes routs. And it demonstrates how reluctant investors are to cash out with the broad equities benchmark roughly 4% from a record high.
The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.8% last week, the slimmest gain in its five-week winning streak. What happened? Simply put, a flurry of big sessions in the first half of November gave way to a relatively quiet stretch, as the gauge went 11 days without a 1% move in either direction, the calmest end to a month since July.
If history is any guide, December is unlikely to bring heavy selling. Since 1950, it’s the third-best month of the year for the S&P 500, averaging a 1.4% gain, data compiled by The Stock Trader’s Almanac show.
Portfolio managers’ tendency to boost their funds’ standing toward the end of the year by buying outperforming stocks helps drive this seasonality. Stocks also typically have a strong run in the period spanning December’s last five sessions and the start of the new year.
Still, there are plenty of risks on the table right now. Markets are positioned for a soft landing in the economy, but there’s no guarantee that growth will remain resilient after the Fed’s tightening takes full effect. In one ominous sign, a measure of US factory activity shrank for a 13th straight month in November.
Another concern is that the bulk of this years gains have been driven by a sliver of the market. It’s the narrowest group of drivers ever for a rally exceeding 15%, data compiled by Societe Generale show. A favored measured of momentum is also flashing a warning sign: The benchmark’s 14-day relative strength index jumped from beaten-down levels to overbought in less than a month.
That’s partly why Brian Frank, portfolio manager of the Frank Value Fund, is wary of the market’s advance.