U.S. stocks are in the midst of their longest selloff in decades.
Whether they are close to bottoming is anyone’s guess.
Market selloffs have long stumped strategists trying to predict when they were close to done. Some have concluded with bursts of panicked selling. Others, such as the one lasting from 1973 to 1974, ground to an end after days of subdued trading volumes.
Many investors and analysts looking back at historic pullbacks believe that the current slump that has put the S&P 500 on the cusp of a bear market still has a way to go.
The index is down 19% from its Jan. 3 record, flirting with the 20% decline that would end the bull market that began in March 2020. This year’s stock selloff, now in its fifth month, has already gone on for far longer than the typical pullback occurring without a recession,…