For much of the past 19 months, professional and everyday investors have enjoyed a hair-raising bull market rally. Since the start of 2023, the iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), broad-based S 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and growth-propelled Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) have rocketed higher by 22%, 42%, and 64%, respectively, as of the closing bell on Aug. 1.

Although history has repeatedly shown that all three major indexes increase in value over long periods, correctly forecasting what Wall Street will do over the next couple of weeks, months, or quarters is virtually impossible with any sustained accuracy. Nevertheless, it doesn't stop the investing community from trying to do the impossible.

Even though no economic data point or metric can definitively predict directional short-term moves in the Dow Jones, S 500, and Nasdaq Composite, a small number of figures have historically correlated with big moves higher or lower in the major stock indexes.

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Source Fool.com