Chart of the Day - Monday, August 5th 2019

Today’s Chart of the Day comes from a blog post by Michael Batnick of Ritholtz Wealth Management (@michaelbatnick). It's a chart of the S&P 500 index going back to 2009 when stocks bottomed. Michael calls this chart the "Wall of Worry" because it illustrates the numerous reasons to sell over the past decade. Despite these bearish headlines, the bull market persisted and the index is up 257%. The chart emphasizes our belief that news follows price. In his blog post, Michael uses this great quote from Bill Gates: "Headlines, in a way, are what mislead you, because bad news is a headline and gradual improvement is not." The media attributed today's loss to escalating trade tensions between the US and China. These headlines make it seem like the world is ending, however, this chart serves as an important reminder of the dangers of trying to trade the news. While we may see more turbulence in the short-term, longer-term the trend is still up and the structural bull market is still intact.