If the early-October low was the bottom, this has been a below-average bear market in length and depth. The average bear market since 1950 lasted 11 months from top to bottom. We are just shy of that mark in 2022.
As for depth, the typical bear market takes 30% off the S&P 500. The current bear market has the S&P 500 off its highs by 23%.
On both counts, this would be considered a relatively “mild” bear market if it just ended.
More important than the length and depth of the current bear market is the fact that there hasn’t been a palpable wave of fear-driven panic selling yet — which is in sharp contrast to the obvious panic we witnessed in the second half of the 2008 bear and the 2020 flash crash.
Let me show you what I mean with an indicator I’ve used for many years now…
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