It's the worst September for stocks since 2008. What that means for October. (MarketWatch)

It's the worst September for stocks since 2008. What that means for October.

Click the link above to read the full article.

The author of this article is William Watts a senior markets writer for MarketWatch.

The article was published on September 30, 2022.

Following up to an article we recently shared about the worst day in the market since June 2020 (link here) the month has finished in the red. On a side note, it is important to remember that media sells clicks and we are certainly seeing more and more "clickbait" titles to attract readers.

September is traditionally the toughest month for stocks, but this one is shaping up to be the worst since 2008, during the bleak days of the financial crisis.

Just how tough are Septembers traditionally? 

Sample size is limited. Not counting the current month, the S&P 500 has seen a September decline of 7% or more 11 times, according to data going back to 1928. The Dow has dropped 7% or more in September 13 times based on data back to 1928. The Nasdaq Composite has suffered a fall of 9% or more in September six times going back to 1986.

Is there a silver lining? 

Dow Jones Market Data found that in Octobers that follow a 7% or larger fall in September, the S&P 500 rises 0.53% on average in October and sees a median gain of 1.81%. That’s better than the average for all Octobers at 0.47% and the median at 1.03%. October is positive in years following an outsize September loss 54.55% of the time, versus 57.45% for all Octobers (see table below).

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One of our favourite follows Ryan Detrick, CMT (@ryandetrick on Twitter) also shared this chart: 

Similar to the previous chart, but breaks down what the October returns have looked like.

The article linked and mentioned above was published on September 30, 2022 and written by William Watts. Check out more articles from William at MarketWatch.