Old Wisdom of ‘Sell in May’ Back in Focus as Stock Market Churns

An age-old market maxim looms over the bounce in US stocks: Sell in May and go away.

One of the best-known market trends, the “sell in May” effect is backed by decades of historical performance: Investing in a fund that debuted in 1993 and tracks the S&P 500 during the May-October period yielded a cumulative return of 171%, compared to a 731% gain for November-April, an analysis from Bespoke Investment Group found. The pattern last held from November 2023 to October 2024.

Seasonality is among a multitude of factors investors are crunching to get a read on how stocks might ...