Data: RBC Global Asset Management; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios
The S&P 500 has hit a new all-time high 204 times so far this decade, per data compiled by RBC.
The big picture: All-time highs, like the ones we hit Thursday, aren't as rare as you think.
- But they were far less common in the stagflation 1970s and the post-dot-com bubble 2000s.
Between the lines: We're likely hitting more highs in recent years, thanks in part to increased liquidity in the market — driven by more automated trading and flows from passive investors (all that sweet, sweet 401(k) cash).
Zoom in: Some investors might want to stay away from buying stocks when they're hitting new heights.
- That could be a mistake — often the market just keeps going up from there, says Eric Lascelles, chief economist at RBC Global Asset Management.
- Looking just one year out from each all-time high, market corrections have occurred only 9% of the time, the bank finds.
