When a stock market index loses 20% of its value from its all-time high, it has officially transitioned from a bull market to a bear market. It tends to happen every 3.6 years (on average), and both the broad S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index have crossed that threshold in 2022.

It's not easy to navigate these market conditions, and investors are understandably jittery. But they shouldn't be, because ignoring short-term noise by taking a long-term focus is one key to generating positive returns. 

Still, investors are monitoring the financial health of consumers and the strength of the U.S. economy to determine whether a stock market turnaround is imminent. On Aug. 4, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) will release its earnings report for the second quarter of 2022, and it could give investors the clues they're looking for. 

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Source Fool.com