March is typically a strong month for stocks with the S&P 500 Index gaining an average of 1.1% and showing positive results in 60% of periods over the past two decades.

Stock Market Outlook for March 1, 2024

March is typically a strong month for stocks with the S&P 500 Index gaining an average of 1.1% and showing positive results in 60% of periods over the past two decades.

Real Time Economic Calendar provided by Investing.com.

*** Stocks highlighted are for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice to purchase or to sell mentioned securities. As always, the use of technical and fundamental analysis is encouraged in order to fine tune entry and exit points to average seasonal trends.

Stocks Entering Period of Seasonal Strength Today:

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ProShares MSCI EAFE Dividend Growers ETF (NYSE:EFAD) Seasonal Chart

Equitrans Midstream Corp. (NYSE:ETRN) Seasonal Chart

Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) Seasonal Chart

Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) Seasonal Chart

Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF (AMEX:FUTY) Seasonal Chart

WisdomTree Global High Dividend Fund (NYSE:DEW) Seasonal Chart

CoStar Group, Inc. (NASD:CSGP) Seasonal Chart

Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) Seasonal Chart

Firstenergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Seasonal Chart

DTE Energy Co. (NYSE:DTE) Seasonal Chart

SunOpta Inc. (NASD:STKL) Seasonal Chart

Rogers Communications, Inc. (NYSE:RCI) Seasonal Chart

iShares Global Healthcare Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) (TSE:XHC.TO) Seasonal Chart

Cue Biopharma, Inc. (NASD:CUE) Seasonal Chart

The Markets

Stocks closed higher on Thursday amidst a push to window dress portfolios into the end of the month. The S&P 500 Index ended with a gain of just over half of one percent, reaching back towards the record intraday high at 5111 that was charted a week ago amidst the NVIDIA surge. Short-term support remains apparent at the rising 20-day moving average at 5012, a level that is within the limits of the upside open gap that was charted a week ago between 4983 and 5038. Negative momentum divergences with respect to MACD and RSI attest to the waning buying demand around these heights, something that could easily lend itself to a short-term pullback in the market before the first quarter is complete. Intermediate-term, the market is providing all of the signs to be bullish of with major moving averages rising above one another and momentum indicators hovering above their middle lines.

Today, in our Market Outlook to subscribers, we discuss the following:

Monthly look at the large-cap benchmark

Tendencies for stocks in the month ahead

Securities that have gained or lost in every March over their trading history

Weekly Jobless Claims and the health of the labor market

Canada GDP and the areas of strength that are worthy of consideration for investment in seasonal portfolios

Subscribers can look for this report in their inbox or by clicking on the following link and logging in: Market Outlook for March 1

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For the month ahead, based on the past two decades, March tends to be one of the strongest months of the year, encompassing the tail-end to the best six months of the year for stocks that began at the end of October. The S&P 500 Index has gained an average of 1.1% in the third month of the year with 60% of periods over the past 20 years showing a gain. Results have ranged from a decline of 12.5% in March of 2020, at the height of the pandemic decline, to a gain of 8.5% in March of 2009. We provided further insight on the market tendencies for the month ahead in our just released monthly report for March. Subscribe now.

Just released…

Our monthly report for March is out, providing you with everything you need to know to navigate the month(s) ahead.

Highlights in this report include:

Equity market tendencies in the month of March

Dollar, Yields, and Stocks

Short-term bond prices rolling over, presenting a near-term headwind to the growth trade as yields push higher

Net Assets on the Fed’s Balance Sheet

Consumer Prices

Market stealthily pricing in inflationary pressures

REITs

Growth may be flourishing, but Equal Weight and Small Caps are starting to break out

Banks

Emerging Markets

Gold and Silver hanging in, but their periods of seasonal strength are coming to an end

Existing Home Sales

Visa Spending Momentum Index

Retail Sales

Consumers becoming more discerning, but there are more of them

Consumer and Business Loan Activity

Business/Manufacturer sentiment

Volatility typically peaks by the middle of March

Our list of all segments of the market to either Accumulate or Avoid, along with relevant ETFs

Positioning for the months ahead

Sector Reviews and Ratings

Stocks that have Frequently Gained in the Month of March

Notable Stocks and ETFs Entering their Period of Strength in March

Subscribers can look for this 115-page report in their inbox and, soon, in the report archive.

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With the new month upon us and as we celebrate the release of our monthly report for March, today we release our screen of all of the stocks that have gained in every March over their trading history. While we at Equity Clock focus on a three-pronged approach (seasonal, technical, and fundamental analysis) to gain exposure to areas of the market that typically perform well over intermediate (2 to 6 months) timeframes, we know that stocks that have a 100% frequency of success for a particular month is generally of interest to those pursuing a seasonal investment strategy. Below are the results:

And how about those securities that have never gained in this third month of the year, here they are:

*Note: None of the results highlighted above have the 20 years of data that we like to see in order to accurately gauge the annual recurring, seasonal influences impacting an investment, therefore the reliability of the results should be questioned. We present the above list as an example of how our downloadable spreadsheet available to yearly subscribers can be filtered.

Sentiment on Thursday, as gauged by the put-call ratio, ended slightly bullish at 0.93.