At the beginning of 2012, the S&P 500 Index opened at 1259. And for the past 19 months, over a grand total of 84 weeks, it has never once fallen below that level, as Jeff Sommer pointed out in yesterday's New York Times.
How unusual is that? According to an analysis performed by the Bespoke Investment Group, there has only been one such longer streak since 1928. That one started on the first trading day of 1975, and lasted for two years; the S&P finally finished below that level on the first trading day of 1977.
Perhaps one reason this streak has garnered so little notice is that we're still a long way from record highs in inflation-adjusted terms. The S&P's all-time high in 2013 dollars came back in March 2000, at an adjusted 2,093. At the moment, the S&P is at 1691, after peaking at 1710 earlier this month.
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