Beware the Ides of March? Not if the Markets say so. With the markets soaring today, I looked up some of the biggest gains ever. Interestingly, the Dow and S&P have had their best days in points and percentage in mid-March. The NASDAQ had its best day ever in January 2001.
Dow:
- Most Points in a day - 499 points on March 16, 2000
- Highest daily Percent gain - 15% on March 15, 1933
- Had its last 3% gain on March 17, 2003
- Biggest gainer today, March 11 - American Express
S&P:
- Most Points in a day - 66 points on March 16, 2000
- Highest daily Percent gain - 17% on March 15, 1933
- Had its last 3% gain on March 17, 2003
- Biggest gainer today, March 11 - Washington Mutual
NASDAQ:
- Most Points in a day - 325 points on January 3, 2001
- Highest daily Percent gain - 14% on January 3, 2001
- Had its last 3% gain on November 28, 2007
- Biggest gainer today, March 11 - Apollo Group
The last time all three major indices were all up over 3.5% in one day was March 17, 2003.
Historically, on the Ides of March itself (March 15), the Dow has been up 56% of the time and has had an average percent gain of 0.3%. Within 6 months of March 15, the Dow has gained an average of 4.2% and has been up 68% of the time.
Even in years when the markets are down from the start of the year through March 15, the markets historically have rebounded. In those down starts to the year and within 6 months of March 15 of those years, the Dow has gained an average of 4.2% and has been up 67% of the time.
The Dow has gained 400+ points in a single day five times in its history, two of them in March.
- 499 points on March 16, 2000
- 489 points on July 24, 2002
- 448 points on July 29, 2002
- 417 points on March 11, 2008 (today)
- 403 points on April 5, 2001
