April has been the kindest month for stocks over the past 20 years, and this seasonality, combined with a stellar first quarter for equities, has stock-market bulls looking for equities to build on their first-quarter rally in the months ahead.
“It is hard to say what has caused positive seasonality at this point in the year,” Detrick wrote. “Investors could be heaving a sigh of relief after a typically volatile first quarter, managers could be squaring up portfolios at the start of a new quarter, or the advent of spring and warmer weather could just lighten up everybody’s moods.”
Jeffrey Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader’s Almanac noted in a recent blog post that since 1949, the S&P 500 has never finished in negative territory following a first-quarter gain of more than 5.4%.