Monthly Futures Seasonality, July 2024: The Best Month for Stocks?
June wasn’t exactly a typical month from the seasonal perspective because stocks and bonds both outperformed their historical performances by leaps and bounds. That raises the question of whether gains from July were pulled forward. After all, July is one of the best two months of the year for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 (depending upon which one you’re looking at, it’s either July or November). Outside of bonds, which tend to have a disappointing month, the rest of the market tends to slip into a summer slumber.
July is a very bullish month for /ES, on a seasonal basis. Over the past 10 years, it has been the second-best month of the year for the index, averaging a gain of 3.33%. Over the past 20 years, it has been the second-best month of the year, averaging a gain of 2.21%.
July is a very bullish month for /NQ, on a seasonal basis. Over the past 10 years, it has been the best month of the year for the index, averaging a gain of 5.06%. Over the past 20 years, it has been the best month of the year, averaging a gain 3.49%.
July is a very bearish month for /ZN, on a seasonal basis. Over the past 10 years, it has been the worst month of the year for the notes, averaging a loss of 4.89%. Over the past 20 years, it has been the worst month of the year, averaging a loss of 4.89%.
July is a very bearish month for /ZB, on a seasonal basis. Over the past 10 years, it has been the second-worst month of the year for the bonds, averaging a loss of 3.38%. Over the past 20 years, it has been the second-worst month of the year, averaging a loss of 2.1%.
July is a mixed month for /CL, on a seasonal basis. Over the past 10 years, it has been the third-worst month of the year for the energy product, averaging a loss of 2.74%. Over the past 20 years, it has been the sixth-best month of the year, averaging a gain of 0.72%.
July is a slightly bullish month for /GC, on a seasonal basis. Over the past 10 years, it has been the fifth worst month of the year for the precious metal, averaging a gain of 0.39%. Over the past 20 years, it has been the sixth-worst month of the year, averaging a gain of 0.96%.
July is a bullish month for /6E, on a seasonal basis. Over the past 10 years, it has been the fifth-best month of the year for the pair, averaging a gain of 0.13%. Over the past 20 years, it has been the third-best month of the year, averaging a gain of 0.34%. Note: the time series for euro futures (/6E) does not extend beyond 2018; the data series has been backfilled using EUR/USD spot rates as a proxy.
July is a bearish month for /VX, on a seasonal basis. Over the past 10 years, it has been the second-worst month of the year for volatility, averaging a loss of 6.25%. Over the past 20 years, it has been the fourth-worst month of the year, averaging a gain of 0.27%.
Christopher Vecchio, CFA, tastylive’s head of futures and forex, has been trading for nearly 20 years. He has consulted with multinational firms on FX hedging and lectured at Duke Law School on FX derivatives. Vecchio searches for high-convexity opportunities at the crossroads of macroeconomics and global politics. He hosts Futures Power Hour Monday-Friday and Let Me Explain on Tuesdays, and co-hosts Overtime, Monday-Thursday. @cvecchiofx
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