U.S. Equities Face Historical Weakness from August to October

Bank of America's recent report highlights the historically weak performance of U.S. equities from August to October, with an average return close to zero for the S&P 500 Index.

This period is often referred to as the 'most challenging three months' for U.S. equities, but the report notes that defensive assets such as the U.S. dollar, gold, and U.S. Treasuries typically perform strongly during this window.

Paul Ciana, technical strategist at Bank of America Securities, points out that historical data shows August through October has been the worst-performing rolling three-month period for the S&P 500 Index since 1928.

The report notes that energy assets may be an exception to the generally defensive seasonal pattern, with the Bloomberg Energy Index delivering an average gain of 2.42% in August and crude oil prices tending to strengthen during the final third of August.