U.S. major indexes have not shown much love on Valentine's Day, with the S&P 500 trading up only 40 percent of the time.
February is historically the second most negative month for both the Dow and S&P, and the third most negative month for the NASDAQ, so it is not surprising that Valentine's Day does not provide a lot of love for the markets.
Here is a look at how the markets perform on Valentine's Day.
- Dow since 1897
Valentine’s Day
- Up 51% of the time, with an average loss of -0.003%
- Biggest gain: 2.05% in 2003
- Biggest drop: -4.3% in 1933
- The Dow has closed down 5 out of the last 10 years on Feb. 14 (Note that in 2010, 2009, 2004, & 1998-1999 Valentine's Day fell on a weekend)
February
- Up 50% of the time with an average decline of -0.28%
- The Best February was in 1931 when it increased 12.4%, and the worst was in 1933 when it fell -15.6%
1-Month After Valentine’s Day
- Up 54% of the time with an average gain of 0.13%
- Biggest gain: 10.3% in 1989
- Biggest drop: -17.8% in 1907
- S&P 500 since 1928
Valentine’s Day
- Up 40% of the time, with an average loss of -0.14%
- Biggest gain: 2.14% in 2003
- Biggest drop: -5.11% in 1933
- The S&P has closed down 5 out of the last 10 years on Feb. 14 (Note that in 2010, 2009, 2004, & 1998-1999 Valentine's Day fell on a weekend)
February
- Up 51% of the time with an average decline of -0.25%
- The Best February was in 1931 when it increased 11.37%, and the worst was in 1933 when it fell -18.4%
1-Month After Valentine’s Day
- Up 55% of the time with an average loss of -0.21%
- Biggest gain: 9.6% in 1974
- Biggest drop: -11.34% in 2001
- NASDAQ Composite since 1972
Valentine’s Day
- Up 64% of the time, with an average gain of 0.16%
- Biggest gain: 2.62% in 2001
- Biggest drop: -1.74% in 2008
- The S&P has closed down 3 out of the last 10 years on Feb. 14 (Note that in 2010, 2009, 2004, 1999 and1998 Valentine's Day fell on a weekend)
February
- Up 49% of the time with an average gain of 0.21%
- The Best February was in 2000 when it increased 19.2%, and the worst was in 2001 when it fell -22.4%
1-Month After Valentine’s Day
- Up 64% of the time with an average loss of -0.35%
- Biggest gain: 6.58% in 1974
- Biggest drop: -20.8% in 2001
Despite marginal losses for the major U.S. averages during Valentine's, the companies below have performed relatively well leading into the holiday in the last 6 years. Note that most of these companies seem to trail down after February 14.
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