March 9, 2019, was a mark of the 10-year anniversary of the longest considered bull market in our history. March 9, 2009, was the post-crisis low to start it. In early 2009, the S&P 500 had a closing price of 676.53 on that
fateful day. The S&P 500 settles for 2743.07 as the market closed on March 8, 2019, Friday. This was a representation of an approximate rise of 305% over a period of 10 years. Indeed, experts would not call it a bad rise for a large-cap stock index.
Numerous factors – economic, political events and a salient market were the helping forces which eventually were the leading force behind the movement of S&P 500. It moved towards both directions during this remarkable run which lasted over a decade. Yet, for the long term investors, it brought in good gains.
The Past 10 Years – Here are some of the Market Movers
Mostly, the scariest and biggest drops are attributed to surging fear among the investors. This is inclusive of the anxiety spread over the European sovereign debt crisis in 2011. Also, it entails the most recent plummet in the market, in the fourth quarter of the year 2018. There were a few factors that caused fear, leading to this massive drop –
- Rising US interest rates
- US – China Trade War
- Fear of a global economic slowdown
There were some more triggers for other market drops. It includes the freakish circumstances like the early 2018 ‘Volmaggedon’ volatility eruption and the ‘flash crash’ in the year 2010. Also, it must be noted that the Brexit referendum brought in by the UK in mid-2016 registered in the US markets as a relatively short-lived and limited blip. During the same, most of the public of the United Kingdom voted in favor of leaving the European Union. Finally, a sharp rise was observed around the end of 2016 into 2017. This was a time when the stock market took it in stride as the Federal Reserve began to lift up interest rates intensely.
What shall we expect to happen next?
The big question hanging over our heads is whether this 10-year long rally will continue or not. While the investors and regular followers saw numerous bumps on the road to the present, the stock market has witnessed recovery. These bumps, both minor and major, each time were overcome. While the risk factors shall prevail, the end of last year was a rather severe example of the downfall. But if we pay heed to expert opinion, this bull market has not yet run its course. Even though it has been exceptionally long, there is more to come.
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