Day After Christmas Seasonal Study (Dec 26)

At HandelStats, we analyzed S&P 500 performance when the day after Christmas falls on December 26. Since 1979, there have been 26 such occurrences, with the market closing higher 20 times (76.9%) and lower 6 times, with no unchanged sessions. The average return across all observations is approximately +0.65%, showing a clear bullish seasonal bias. Notably, when December 26 falls on a Friday, the market has finished higher 100% of the time (6 out of 6 occurrences). As always, this is not a trading signal, but a seasonal tendency that helps frame expectations and risk during holiday-thinned sessions.