2020 is being compared to one other year in American history: 1968.
Here's what happened then:
- Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated
- Bobby Kennedy assassinated
- Vietnam War demonstrations
- Police and protestors clash at Chicago's Democratic National Convention
- North Korea captures U.S. Navy ship and takes 83 crew members as POWs
- Two U.S. Olympic medalists, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, raise their fists on the podium to salute the Black Power movement
- Nixon wins the White House
- Humans orbit the moon for the first time ever on Apollo 8
All of this took place at the dawn of the television age, amplifying emotions and anxieties as people watched events unfold in real-time. From things I've read and clients I've spoken with, the sky felt like it was falling then too.
So how did the stock market perform in 1968? A market crash or prolonged decline?
Almost the opposite - the S&P 500 (including dividends) finished the year up +10%.
We don't know if 2020 will have similar results. We've certainly rallied since the market bottom in March. But as 1968 shows, despite the sadness, division, and chaos that surrounds us, the stock market can move higher on hopes for the future.
Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.