Hopefully on Monday you got outside to get a good look at the eclipse no matter where you were (with glasses on of course).
Events like this get me thinking: where was the stock market at the last eclipse, back on August 21, 2017.
The S&P 500 closed at 2,428 that day. On Monday 4/8/2024 it closed at 5,202. That is a gain of 2,774 points...or a 114% percent rise.
Wow. Let that sink in...in just under 7 years the S&P 500 has more than doubled.
Hindsight is 20/20 and we all know that. If you were to tell me I can double my money in 7 years I would do that in a heartbeat. However, we need to put ourselves back in 2017 to make this exercise actually beneficial.
What are some of the reasons one may have held off investing over these 7 years? The most popular financial headlines during these years:
2017: Trade disputes with NAFTA and the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement LINK
2018: more trade disputes and rising interest rates (we'll see more of this in later years!) LINK
2020: COVID-19 Pandemic and 2020 Election Uncertainty
2021: Supply Chain issues LINK
2022: Inflation and Cryptocurrency regulation LINK
2023: Rising interest rates LINK
These are just some of the reasons that made you think twice about investing. There is no possible way to list them all. The message is pretty clear I think: even amid all of this uncertainty, worry, changing economic landscape, politics, etc. the market still does what it does: provides meaningful returns to investors who are willing to stay the course.
The next solar eclipse will be in 2024 in the US. Where do you think the market will be then? Will you be participating or sitting on the sidelines?