The Fastest Bear Market Ever
Courtesy of Michael Batnick
Bear markets are nothing new, but what makes this current edition especially painful is the speed at which its taken place.
The chart below shows all declines of 20% or more from the all time high going back to 1915.
The average number of days from peak to bear market territory is 255, the median is 156. The Dow is currently 19% off its high in 17 sessions, so assuming it falls another 1% over the next few days, this would make it by far the fastest all-time high to bear market ever. The second fastest was 1929, which took 36 sessions. The chart below is the same one as above, only zoomed in to get a better sense of what’s going on.
Every bear market presents its own set of challenges, but this one has been particularly unpleasant.
