S&P 500’s 2026 Prospects: A Fourth Year of Triumph?

Yet history, that most fickle of companions, whispers caution. While the index’s annual average leans toward 10%, the past three years have been as lavish as Lady Catherine’s dinner parties: 2023 and 2024 each boasting returns exceeding 23%, and 2022’s 19% loss redeemed with a 77% rebound. One might suppose the market had resolved to outdo itself, as if determined to prove its worth to skeptics with a flourish.






