Retail Crowd Seen Resuming Stock-Buying Binge After Tax Deadline

Equity bulls expecting a bumpy ride for US equities to be over soon have a historically favorable seasonal pattern on their side.

April tends to be a strong month for stocks, with the S&P 500 Index sporting an average gain of 1.5% since 1990, trailing only November’s 2.2% advance, data compiled by Bloomberg show. One popular theory pins the seasonal dynamic on retail investors — a persistent source of support for US stocks — returning to the market after the mid-month tax deadline.