Since 1911, a losing streak of 9 or more days in the Dow Jones Industrial Average has occurred 26 times. Below are charts and statistics.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) last confirmed a 9-day losing streak on February 22, 1978.
As shown on the table below, the forward 21-day return back then was 1%.
The maximum number of consecutive losing days has been 12 and has occurred twice in the past.
Overall, the average 21-day forward return in the last 25 occurrences of 9 or more consecutive losing days has been 1.1%.
What is intriguing with the current losing streak is the long time lag from the previous one, which occurred in 1978. Apart from that, these random patterns do not have forecasting significance; they are outcomes of random price action.
As we have argued many times in this blog, descriptive statistics have limited forecasting power. They are enjoyable to monitor and analyze but overall useless for trading or investing in the markets.
Subscribe below for notifications of new posts and updates from the Price Action Lab Blog and get the free PDF book “Profitability and Systematic Trading” (Wiley, 2008).
Premium Content
By subscribing, you have immediate access to hundreds of articles. Premium Articles subscribers have immediate access to more than two hundred articles, and All in One subscribers have access to all premium articles, books, premium insights, and market signal content.
Specific disclaimer: This article includes charts that may reference price levels. If market conditions change the price levels or any analysis based on them, we may not update the charts. All charts in this article are for informational purposes only. See the disclaimer for more information.
Disclaimer: We only provide the articles for informational purposes, not as investment advice or actionable content. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, fitness, or timeliness for any particular purposes of the articles. You should never treat the articles as financial advice. The author of this website is not a registered financial adviser. Before subscribing, please read our Disclaimer and Terms and Conditions.
Charting and backtesting program: Amibroker. Data provider: Norgate Data
If you found this article interesting, you may follow this blog via RSS, email, or Twitter.