Will September be August Part II?

It was definitely a wild and rocky August.  Looking at the "Top 20" charts for all-time Dow point gains and losses shows us this much:

• August 4th was number eleven on the losses chart (-512.76)
• August 8th was number six on the losses chart (-634.76)
• August 9th was number ten on the gains chart (+429.92)
• August 10th was number nine on the losses chart (-519.83)
• August 11th was number eleven on the gains chart (+423.37)

August ninth also had the 20th largest intraday point swing of all time (639.94).  The price of gold topped $1700, then $1800, and was briefly over $1900 before dropping back down.  Let us also not forget Standard & Poor's decision to take away the coveted "AAA" from our government.

While August 2011 did end with some positive days for the markets, don't expect this to continue throughout September.  Recent indicators already suggest the economy is back at 2009 levels.  This will create more uncertainty for the markets, meaning more sideways movement.  Those "Top 20" charts may have some new entries on them by the time this month ends.