What Happens In A Year With An Awful S&P Open?

The market recorded its worst open to a year ever in 2016, according to a tweet from Pension Partners research director Charlie Bilello. The S&P 500 closed 10.5 percent down after the first 28 days of the year. It was the worst open since the post-World War II slump that saw markets open down 9.2 percent in 1948.

Of the top 10 worst opening years, three eventually saw the S&P produce a positive return: 1970, 1982 and 2009, with returns of 0.1 percent, 20.4 percent and 25.9 percent.

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It’s hard to draw conclusions from year-start and year-end S&P figures, however. 1949, the year following the next-worst open in 1948, saw positive returns of 10.5 percent. The S&P ended down 36 percent when the market crashed at the end of 2008, but finished up nearly 26 percent the next year.

Benzinga reached out to Bilello for comment and had not received any at press time.

The S&P was up about 2 percent at time of writing at 1,859.64.

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