Well, here we are in December, the final trading month of 2016, and what a year it has been. After what can only be described as the most controversial, unorthodox and stressful presidential campaign in history I think the country just want to move on and into the holiday season.
For 2016 the major indexes have performed remarkably well. For the year the DOW has gained 10%, the S&P 500 7.24% and finally the NASDAQ is up almost 5%.
December has traditionally been a positive month for stocks and this December could well continue that trend. One word of warning about December, after about the second week of trading, liquidity begins to shrink dramatically as many traders and brokerage companies start to wind down operations for the year. Traditionally most market participants look forward to the holidays and a well deserved mental and physical break from the markets. This year is no different, in fact, I think it will be magnified as the equity markets have all performed well. Unless we see a "Black Swan" event in December, we expect to see stocks remain flat to positive month.
The reason I want to bring the month of December to attention is simply to alert you to this one fact. If you have not made your money for the year yet, the last two weeks of December is not the time to be taking big risks and swinging for the fences.
As we move into 2017, we will be entering into the second-longest bull market in history. The longest bull market we've ever seen was from 1987 to 2000 which ended when the dot-com bubble burst. If we were to match that same length bubble market, we would be looking at a continuation of this bull market to the year 2021. I don't believe anybody not even Warren Buffet can forecast four years ahead particularly with all the new changes going around the world.
The good news is you don't have to worry about predicting the future as you have the market proven Trade Triangles on your side. No matter what happens in the future, MarketClub's Trade Triangles will keep you on the right side of the market. There is always going to be an opportunity in the markets, whether it's in stocks, commodities or even foreign-exchange our goal here at MarketClub is to help you achieve your financial rewards and goals in the future.
I would like to thank all of our members who are contributing questions and comments to the blog; I trust you all had a good year trading. At MarketClub, we encourage interaction! Often by sharing trading ideas with others, new trading opportunities make themselves visible to all.
IMPORTANT REMINDER AND THE REASON FOR THIS POST: December is traditionally a good month for stocks, but the LAST TWO WEEKS of the year can be tough and expensive because of the lack of trading liquidity. My advice, protect your capital for all the trades we will see in 2017.
Stay focused and disciplined.
Every success with MarketClub,
Adam Hewison
President, INO.com
Co-Creator, MarketClub
