Yes, The Stock Market Has Been This Volatile Before

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We are going to start with an analog chart comparing the Standard & Poor’s Composite from its high in 1929 to the Standard and Poor’s Composite’s high in 2000.  The chart is drawn from weekly high/low data.  We have added dates for the longer term swings.

sp composite

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Many investors are not aware as to how VOLATILE the stock market was from 1929 to 1942.  The following swing charts break the period down into three segments:  1929 to 1932, 1932 to 1937 and 1937 to 1942.

September 7, 1929 to June 2, 1932

sp composite down 86.8%

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June 2, 1932 to March 10, 1937

sp composite doubling in price

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March 10, 1937 to April 28, 1942

sp composite data is high

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We are now going to move forward to the time frame of March 24, 2000 to September 9, 2011.  The following swing charts break the period down into four segments: 2000 to 2002, 2002 to 2007, 2007 to 2009 and 2009 to 2011.

March 24, 2000 to October 10, 2002

sp composite down 50.5%

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October 10, 2002 to October 11, 2007

sp composite up 105.1%

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October 11, 2007 to March 6, 2009

sp composite down 57.7%

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March 6, 2009 to September 9, 2011

sp composite up 105.5%

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We are going to conclude with four swing analog charts.  Each chart compares the current movement of the S&P with a period in the past.  The charts are drawn from weekly high/low data, and the dates shown are end of week dates.

sp composite base of 100

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sp composite rebased

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sp composite

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sp composite 2011 from 2007

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About Ronald Griess