There were a number of striking milestones of this type set in 2017. The S&P 500 has gone an historic length of time without a drop of 3% from a peak, something that is historically extremely common. On a total-return basis, the benchmark index has risen for 13 straight months through November, an unprecedented streak.
Global stocks, meanwhile, haven’t had a down month since October 2016, and no matter what happens in December, 2017 will be the year with the fewest monthly declines in the history of the world index. Of course, if December ends in the green, that would represent the first year ever without a single monthly decline.
Read: Global stocks could make history this month by refusing to fall
Beyond the uninterrupted move higher, there was basically no risk to be had in risk markets. Of the 56 lowest closing levels in the history of the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) (since 1990), 47 of them occurred this year, per Preston’s data. The so-called “fear index” also notched two all-time closing lows.