S&P 500 Average Monthly Gain

The following chart presents the average calendar month gain for the S&P 500 since 1950.

The chart illustrates that the calendar month of April has tended to be a good month for stocks.

In fact, April has been the second best month for the S&P 500 since 1950.

On average.

S&P 500 Average Monthly Gain

What is the S&P 500's average monthly gain?

Since 1950, the S&P 500 has gained 0.7% per calendar month on average.

What was the S&P 500's largest monthly loss?

The largest calendar month loss for the S&P 500 since 1950 was 21.8% for the calendar month of October 1987.

What was the S&P 500's largest monthly gain?

The largest calendar month gain for the S&P 500 since 1950 was 16.3% for the calendar month of October 1974.

What is meant by the stock market adage, 'Sell in May and walk away'?

Sell in May is based on the stock market’s tendency to underperform for the six calendar months of May through October and outperform from November through April.