5 Must-See Stock Correction and Bear Market Statistics That'll Put Your Mind at Ease

There's no sugarcoating it: the investing community is enduring a challenging year.

As of the closing bell on May 18, the benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) was off to its second-worst start to a year (through 95 trading days) in history -- a decline of 17.7%.  The widely followed Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) wasn't doing much better, with a year-to-date drop of 13.3%. These double-digit declines mean both indexes are officially in correction territory.

It's been an even tougher slog for the growth-stock-driven Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC), which is down 27% on a year-to-date basis and 29% since hitting its all-time closing high in November. Considering its greater than 20% decline, the Nasdaq is firmly in the grips of a bear market.

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Source Fool.com