June usually a snoozer for stocks

The 0.1% May gain for the Dow is right in line with what historically has been a “flat as a pancake” month for stock investors, according to Bespoke Investment Group co-founder Paul Hickey.

So what do the Wall Street record books say about the stock markets June seasonal tendencies? Don’t expect much — at least if you think past performance for the Dow Jones industrial average is a reliable guide.

In the past 100 years, the Dow has posted average gains of 0.32% in June, according to Bespoke. But it has been higher for the month less than half of the time.

June performance has gotten even worse in the past 50- and 20-year periods.

June ranks 11th out of 12 months in the past 50 years. The Dow actually has posted an average negative return of 0.29% and finished in the black only 46% of the time going back to 1965.

And in the past 20 years, the Dow has tumbled 0.81% on average in June and finished lower 60% of the time.

But there’s a silver lining in all the underwhelming June performance statistics. The Dow has done just fine in June in years the White House was up for grabs, Bespoke data show.

“In the 25 election years since 1916, the Dow has averaged a gain of 0.82% in June with positive returns 60% of the time,” Hickey wrote in the report.

So there you have it. If you missed your chance to “sell in May and go away,” maybe June’s weak record will prompt you to reconsider staying the course.