The Monthly Streak Ends

A historic streak came to an end with the close of trading yesterday, on the final trading day for the month of February. On a total-return basis, the S&P 500 fell 2.6 percent over the course of the month, representing the index’s first such decline since October 2016.

That means that an uninterrupted 15-month rally has just come to a close. This was by far the longest such streak in the history of the S&P; the previous record was a 10-month rally that ended in September 1995.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had a 4.3 percent decline for February, coming off 10 straight positive months. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.9 percent for February, ending a seven-month rally.