That's a really low number. We had 76 days where the S&P moved by more than one percent last year. In 2009, there were 117 such days, and in 2008, there were 134 -more than half the trading days of the year. By those standards, 2011 is shaping up as inordinately calm.
On the other hand, those calm days don't necessarily portend smooth sailing ahead. Days with little movement don't predict the future so much as they embody the present. The final three months of a bull market tend to have an average of 5.7 days where the S&P falls by one percent, but the first three months of a bear market have 11 such days. If we are headed for a bear, those big swings will come soon enough.
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