Wealth Bank: Most of the strongest stock market up days in the US occur during bear markets. Investors who "time the market" accurately may miss out on the market.

The latest research from Wealth Bank shows that during periods of intense market volatility, strong rebounds are more likely to occur. Investors who try to "time the market" by exiting and re-entering during the panic phase may face the risk of missing key uptrends. The bank analyzed the 50 strongest trading days of the S&P 500 index from May 1996 to April 2026, and found that 60% of them occurred during bear markets. Another 18% occurred in the first two months after the start of a new bull market, while only 22% occurred during a mature bull market. This data indicates that some of the most powerful rebounds in U.S. stock market history often occur when sentiment is at its most pessimistic. When investors choose to exit for safety during a market crash, they are likely to miss the subsequent rapid rebound, which can have a significant impact on long-term investment returns. Wealth Bank also found that during periods of high volatility, significant increases and decreases in the market often occur in quick succession. For example, some of the largest single-day gains in the history of the S&P 500 occurred during the 2008 global financial crisis and the market crash triggered by the 2020 pandemic, often after a sharp decline. The report suggests that maintaining investment during periods of intense market volatility, rather than frequent trading due to short-term panic, is crucial for long-term investment performance. Recently, driven by the AI boom, the US stock market has continued to hit historical highs, but at the same time, heightened tensions in the Middle East, inflationary pressures, and rising US bond yields have significantly increased market volatility. In the current market environment, investor sentiment is prone to quickly switch between panic and optimism, but historical data shows that the strongest rebounds often occur when the market is at its most unsettled.