The month of September has a bad reputation when it comes to stock market performance, and it’s mostly for good reason. Since 1928, the markets have dropped an average 1.2% during the month. With low consumer confidence and high market volatility, it appeared this year that market was preparing for its usual September slump. At the end of August, many experts warned of the dreadful numbers that were certain to plague investors.
What a difference a month can make.
Not only did stock market performance avoid a slump, the markets rallied at a torrid pace. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 posted their best September performances since 1939, while the NASDAQ also showed vast improvement.
Here’s a rundown of stock market performance and what each market did in September.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow had its best September performance in 71 years. For the month, the market climbed an impressive 7.8%, or 778.3 points. While it did slip 47.2 points on the last day of trading in September, that number was greatly overshadowed by its performance the previous 29 days.
At the beginning of July, the Dow was trading below 9,700 points. Since then, the market has climbed 11.5% to 10,847.99. During three months, the Dow gained a whopping 1117.43 points.
The Dow opened today up nearly 68 points. It could be a sign of a continued rally during October.
S&P 500: Like the Dow, the S&P had its best September since 1939, climbing 8.8%, or 91.9 points. It was hardly the rough September that analysts predicted.
Over the past three months, the index is up 11.8%. In the middle of the summer, the S&P was trading just over 1,000 points, but has since jumped to 1,148.27 points. While the market dipped towards the end of August, the September rally pushed it to where it stands today.
On the first day of the new quarter, the S&P opened up 8.6 points, another positive sign for this index.
NASDAQ: The NASDAQ rounds out the list of the broader markets experiencing gains in September, with the biggest increase of the three. During the month, it rose nearly 12.9%, its best September since 1998. At the end of trading on Sept. 30, the NASDAQ had a value of 2,384.79, which represents a jump of 271.7 points.
Like the other markets, the NASDAQ was very close to its 52-week low with a value just under 2,100. Since then, the index has gained 13.5%, or 284.3 points. The NASDAQ also fell at the end of August, but can attribute its three-month gain to a strong September performance.
The NASDAQ has gained 18.6 points today, showing the market is starting October much like it started September.
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