S&P 500 Forecast for 2025: Insights from Stock Market Cycles

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January Barometer: The month of January has already closed with a net gain over December. Therefore, in accordance with the January Barometer this suggests a positive year.
First Five Days Indicator: The first five trading days being positive further supports this outlook. Although they were barely positive at +0.6% it still counts.
December Low Indicator: This indicator is bearish if the December low is taken out in Q1 of the year. Unfortunately, the December low was already breached in January, which adds a note of caution. We now have two bullish indicators and one negative indicator.
Presidential Cycle: With 2025 being the first year of a presidential term, historically this has been bearish for the stock market. It brings uncertainty, which may temper expectations. This is the year where presidents typically enact changes and tough fiscal measures, although president Trump may prove to be atypical here; especially if he enacts any of his tax policies, rate cuts or large government spending programs this year. So, while this indicator is bearish, it has a caveat given how unorthodox Trump is as a president. For example, in 2016 the stock market was very volatile but still gained 10% under Trump’s first term year.
Outlook: Combining these factors, the outlook for 2025 is cautiously optimistic. While the January barometer and the first 5 days indicator point to a positive year, the breach of the December low coupled with this being the first-year of a presidential cycle suggests a volatile to bearish year. When combining all indicators we arrive at the conclusion that we are in for a volatile RANGE year. The bulls and bears will battle it out in a tug of war. While January-April tend to be seasonally bullish, May-October tend to be bearish. November and December are seasonally bullish too. So whether the year closes with a slight gain or slight loss isn’t the focus. The best approach for this year is to capitalize on the swings. Therefore, mean reversion strategies (buy low, sell high) are ideal. Momentum and breakout strategies should be avoided. Finally, avoid being caught in a drawdown in the May-October period and position yourself to capitalize on the Nov-Dec seasonally bullish period.