Just because stocks have scrambled nearly all the way back to their record heights doesn’t necessarily mean the market is in the clear.
Stocks have a long history of making big gains within long-term down markets, only for the bottom to give out again. Such mini-, ultimately futile rallies were regular occurrences during the Great Depression, and they’ve been recurring in some of the most recent downturns.
They’ve happened often enough that Wall Street has a name for them: bear market rallies. While many analysts say they don’t expect stocks to fall all the way back to their lows set in March, much of Wall Street says the recent surge of nearly 40% for stocks may be setting investors up for disappointment, with rougher times likely to