S&P 500 Had a Lackluster 2005

For 2005 the S&P 500 closed at 1,248.29, up 3.84%. Investors who bought at the April 20 low and sold at the December 14 high pocketed a 11.89% gain.

Three distinct upsides gave investors and traders a chance to make money on short-term volatility. Based on the 252 daily closes there were 31,626 buy and sell combinations for the year. The profitable buy and sell combinations easily outnumbered the unprofitable ones 23,395 (73.97%) to 8,231 (26.03%). The average return for the 31,626 buy and sell combinations was, however, only 1.98%.

The percent returns chart shows the profitable returns in green and the unprofitable ones in red. The ridge of green along the right hand side of the chart represents the returns of the buy and sell combinations bought throughout the year and held or sold toward the end of the year as the S&P 500 ended the year near its highs. The unprofitable returns of the buy and sell combinations for the three downsides appear in red.

The winners and losers map shows the large green area of profitable investments that are distributed over a wide range of buy and sell dates and prices. The red areas show the unprofitable buy and sell combinations.