Bank of America Analyst: August Through October Is Historically the Weakest Period for U.S. Stocks; Opportunities May Arise for the U.S. Dollar and Gold

Paul Ciana, a technical analyst at Bank of America Securities, pointed out that based on decades of market data, August through October is historically the weakest three-month period for the S&P 500 Index, with an average return close to zero and an average drawdown of 7.35%. At the same time, the U.S. dollar, gold, and U.S. Treasuries tend to outperform the broader market during this same period. Ciana noted that the U.S. dollar has historically outperformed the British pound and the Australian dollar in August, while gold has risen 61% of the time between August and October, with an average gain of 2.52%.