The Dow may break a 20-year record this week
This week marks the final trading week of the first quarter of 2018, and at current levels it remains a tossup about whether major indexes will extend or end lengthy winning streaks on a quarterly basis.
With two full trading sessions left in the first three months of the year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) is down 1.3% for the quarter. If it closes in negative territory for the period, that will snap a nine-quarter streak of gains, the longest such streak for the blue-chip average since an 11-quarter rally that ended in the third quarter of 1997.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is also coming off nine straight quarterly gains, matching a streak that ended in the first quarter of 2015. Currently the S&P 500 is down 0.2% for the quarter, a move it could easily erase over the coming sessions. If it ends positive on the quarter, marking a 10th straight quarterly advance, that will represent the longest such streak since a 14-quarterly rally that ended in the second quarter of 1998.
On a total-return basis, the S&P is down 0.1% over the first quarter. The total-return S&P has also risen for nine straight quarters, but if it goes green for a 10th, that will only match the longest streak since a 10-quarter rally ending in the second quarter of 2015.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) looks safe to extend a notable quarterly streak of its own; it is up 4.3% thus far in the first quarter. However, that only represents its seventh straight quarterly gain, its longest such streak since a 10-quarter rally that ended in 2015.
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