Two-thirds of the way through 2026 (nearly). It FEELS like a lot has happened.

And a quick scroll through the Wikipedia entry for 2026 kind of backs that up …

Source: Wikipedia. It’s not even the end of August!

 

Venezuela! 😲 AI! 😲 Iran! 😲 Oil! 😲AI, but a different bit! 😲 Space X! 😲 Trump! 😲 Inflation! 😲

 

But if you hadn’t been able to read the headlines , and just used market movements to set your emotional temperature, it’s been a different story.

We’ve pulled out one of our favourite charts; Big Market Days (BMDs for short).

Instead of talking about “volatility” or “standard deviation”, we just do some counting, looking at the number of days where a market moves up or down by large (more than 1%) amounts. Doesn’t matter if it’s up or down, it’s just about how bumpy the journey through the year is.

And if you look at the S&P 500 in 2026, we’re tracking to be a little below average. 30 BMDs so far, vs. an average of 53 per year (since 1954). Still four months to go, but a smooth road so far.

Source: LSEG/7IM, 2026 data is to August 14th, past performance is not a guide to future returns.

 

It’s the same story in the FTSE All-Share: 29 days so far in 2026, vs an average of 61 BMDs (let us know if you want the chart). Smooth sailing.

 The one place it HASN’T been calm is in South Korea. The KOSPI 200 (the FTSE equivalent) has already had 113 BMDs (since 1992 as that’s as far back as the data goes).

Source: LSEG/7IM, 2026 data is to August 14th, past performance is not a guide to future returns.

 

But it’s actually WAAAAY worse than that. The KOSPI 200 has moved by more than 4% on 48 days this year. I guess you’d call them VVVBMD’s.

 That’s a third of all trading days this year. And for added context, the S&P 500 has had 28 “4%-er” days in the last 15 years!

 The problem is simple. The KOSPI 200 is really the KOSPI TWO.

Source: KOSPI

Two AI/Semiconductor/Tech companies make up 60% of the index, and boy are they pinging around, dragging the other 192 companies with them. Not nice if you’re a Korean passive investor.

 

If only there were a word for not-having-too-much-concentration …

 

*Disclaimer* This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at UK retail clients only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future. Data Source 7IM