It’s Monday, and the start of September- a fact that has some folks nervous:
The market was set to reopen Tuesday after the Labor Day holiday, commencing what is traditionally a treacherous month.
"Many investors believe October is the worst month for equity market returns. This can be partly attributable to the fact some large one-day declines have occurred in October," said David Templeton of the financial website Seeking Alpha.
"In actuality though, the worst month for market returns is September. Although the average return in September is negative, the magnitude of the decline was no worse than one to 1.5 percent."
Cross-currents affecting the market in recent weeks included up-and-down economic data and volatile oil prices.
News that US gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by a stronger-than-expected 3.3 percent in the second quarter was offset by data showing a weak 0.2 percent gain in July consumer spending and a 0.7 percent drop in incomes.
The conflicting figures have economists in a heated debate over what to believe.
"The economy is weaker than the GDP data might suggest and is not expected to repeat the growth of the first half," said Ryan Sweet at Economy.com.
"Risks of another contraction in real GDP will remain elevated through the first half of 2009 as labor and housing markets search for their bottoms."
So just how "perilous" is September likely to be?
