I can’t remember the last time that the S&P 500 index pulled back a little from a recent high and I did not get at least one request to update the table below.
The last time I did this, just two months ago in All About the Pullback from SPX 1687, I also threw in a scatter plot and trend line to help compare all the pullbacks since the March 2009 low. This time around I think the table with the raw data will suffice; those in need of a graphical plot can always click through the link above.
It is worth noting that this is the fourth pullback of 2013 and even with the year less than two thirds over, there have been more pullbacks in 2013 than in each of the last three years. The corollary is that the magnitude of the pullbacks for 2013 has been relatively mild, with a 7.5% jolt from May through June pacing three pullbacks that were barely significant enough to warrant inclusion in the table. In contrast, each of the previous three years has seen one pullback of more than 10% – a threshold that usually triggers the “correction” label.
[source(s): Yahoo, VIX and More]
Finally, while I have not included any VIX data in this table, I find it interesting that the VIX has yet to rise above 15 during this pullback. In every other instance cited in the table, the VIX managed to climb above 18 at least once.
Disclosure(s): none