U.S.
stock
markets
had
their
worst
day
since
September
2022
this
week,
but
to
some
investors,
such
moves
shouldn’t
come
as
a
surprise.
That’s
because
the
S
&
P
500
often
experiences
its
most
volatile
day
of
the
year
in
August,
a
CNBC
Pro
study
has
revealed.
Fears
of
a
U.S.
recession
were
the
main
culprit
for
the
global
market
meltdown
this
week
.
Investors
are
also
concerned
that
the
Federal
Reserve
is
behind
in
cutting
interest
rates
to
cushion
an
economic
slowdown,
with
the
central
bank
last
week
choosing
instead
to
keep
rates
at
their
highest
levels
in
two
decades.
Coincidentally,
the
summer
month
is
second
only
to
October
for
having
the
most
volatile
day
each
year
since
1932,
the
analysis
of
FactSet
data
showed.
One
explanation
for
this
is
the
low
trading
volumes
in
the
month,
as
many
market
participants
bask
in
the
sun
on
vacation
rather
than
face
their
trading
terminals.
On
average,
around
3
billion
S
&
P
500
contracts
are
traded
each
day
in
August,
which
is
about
20%
lower
than
January,
the
month
with
the
highest
average
trading
volumes,
according
to
trading
volume
data
since
1999.
While
share
prices
often
swinging
dramatically
in
August,
the
total
return
for
the
month
—
and
the
volatility
that
represents
—
is
often
in
the
middle
of
the
pack.
On
average,
shares
gain
0.5%
in
August,
substantially
more
than
the
average
loss
of
1.2%
incurred
in
December
but
much
lower
than
January’s
large
gains
of
1.67%.
August
as
a
whole
has
been
the
most
volatile
in
a
mere
five
years
since
1928,
compared
to
April,
which
spiked
as
the
most
volatile
month
in
15
different
years.
Methodology:
The
standard
deviation
of
monthly
price
returns
in
a
year
was
used
to
calculate
the
volatility
of
a
month.
