As reported by the Almanac Trader, over the last 21 years, the last four trading days of August have been somewhat bearish.

The lone exception to this trend appears to be the small-cap Russell 2000 index which has managed a small average gain of 0.04% while advancing 12 times (57.1% of the time). The worst losses came in 1998 (Russia turmoil, currency crisis and hedge fund debacle) during the briefest bear market on record. Solids gains were logged in 2015 and 2011 (brisk sell-offs occurred earlier in the month in each year). DJIA, S&P 500 and Russell 1000 have been down five times in last eight years.

The updated graph below confirms traders have gotten risk adverse pouring funds into utility stocks. As we have pointed out recently, utilities stocks are safe havens that serve as a bond replacement where investors park funds during periods of nervousness about the overall market. Prices have stalled recently which allowed the major indices to absorb overbought conditions. Now might be an opportune time to bid on shares on your watch list as the market could easily move back toward recent highs.