December 30, 2008
Todays strong showing moved all indices higher, with the NASDAQ leading the market with a 2.87 percent increase. It scored the largest rise ever in a negative growth year, on this penultimate trading day, outdistancing the previous record of 1.71 percent set in 1973.
The DJIA and the S&P500, posted a similar record, since these indices have never moved as much as one percent, on this day, since 1953.
Thus the summary we posted on December 28, citing the fact that in losing years, all three indices move higher more often than they fall, on the second-to-the-last trading day of the year, was useful in anticipating todays market action.
Tomorrow will be 2008s last trading day; in past years, when prices retreated, all three indices moved higher twice as often as they fell. Yet, in terms of the last days rate of change, there as many increases greater than one percent as decreases of less than minus one percent. The NASDAQ however, has two losses deeper than minus one percent but only one gain higher than plus one percent.
DJIA 2.17 percent
NASDAQ 2.87 percent
S&P500 2.44 percent