September could be a more eventful month for stocks, if history is any guide. According to Carson Group’s Ryan Detrick, September is the weakest month of the year for stocks. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is down 0.6% on average during Pumpkin Spice Month and generates a positive return only 45% of the time. Along with February, September is the only other month of the year with a negative return on average. Volatility is also trending up, and this year’s midterm elections pose another problem. But these are just trends and seasonality is not what drives markets. While Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, expects more volatility ahead, it could also present some buying opportunities for investors. “There are a lot of macroeconomic variables right now that I think could fuel increased volatility,” Turnquist told Yahoo Finance on Monday, citing geopolitical tensions and rising bets on a Fed rate hike. “The earnings story is great, but we’re not in that chapter right now for the market until we get to the next reporting season,” Turnquist added, “so I think the setup here, the base case, [is] higher volatility and potentially a buying opportunity if we get some reduction.”
