Spring Forward: 5 Indicators Illustrate a Bullish Shift

Despite Market Volatility, Bulls Have the Edge: Here’s Why

Lately, Wall Street investors have had to contend with a choppy market and heightened volatility driven by geopolitical turmoil, inflation concerns, and AI-related spending concerns. However, if there’s one lesson veteran investors understand, it’s to block out the headlines and noise and instead take a non-emotional, hard look at key market indicators. Below are 5 indications that the bulls have a large edge into spring.

Spring Seasonality Favors the Bulls

Seasonal patterns are often studied by investors because they provide a roadmap of the recurring,often predictable price trends that occur at certain times of year on Wall Street. In 2026 in particular, seasonality has proved its mettle. Historical seasonality trends predicted modest gains in January before a correction that occurs in the back half of February and into the beginning of March – and that is exactly what has occurred. However, this same seasonal road map now suggests a robust rally into year-end. In fact, stocks have bottomed on average on March 12^th over the past two decades.

Image Source: Carson Investment Research

Volatility Spikes Lead to Buying Opportunities

Historically, volatility spikes provide some of the best buying opportunities on Wall Street. Often, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) spikes represent emotionally driven panic among investors that is detached from the underlying fundamentals of the economy. Over the past few years, spikes above $28 in the VIX have served as strong buy zones for bulls. Earlier this month, VIX spiked above $28 amid fears about geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East.

Image Source: TradingView

Inflationary Concerns are Overblown

The Jones Act, or Section 27 of the Marchan Marine Act of 1920, is a federal law that regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and mandates that all goods that are transported by water must be carried on ships that are U.S.-built, flagged, owned, and crewed. However, amid the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran, President Trump has suspended the Jones Act. The suspension of the Jones Act should increase supply flexibility and provide some relief for rising oil and gas prices.

Meanwhile, although high energy prices are putting pressure on prices at the pump, the overall inflation rate remains tame. According to Truflation, which aggregates 35 million real-time data points, U.S. CPI is still just 1.21% - well below the lagging government-provided numbers would suggest.

Image Source: Truflation

Leaders Defend Long-Term Support

Despite recent market volatility, several leading AI-related stocks have recently found support at their rising 10-week moving averages, including SanDisk (SNDK), Micron (MU), Bloom Energy (BE), Vertiv (VRT), and Lumentum (LITE).

Image Source: TradingView

Investors are Extremely Fearful

According to the CNN Fear & Greed Index, investors are “extremely fearful.” As Warren Buffett teaches,“Be greedy when others are fearful.”

Image Source: CNN

Bottom Line

Navigating a market defined by geopolitical friction can be challenging. By recognizing that volatility spikes often create better buys than sells, especially when real-time inflation remains manageable, and leading stocks hold their long-term support, investors can position themselves for seasonal strength ahead.

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Micron Technology, Inc. (MU): Free Stock Analysis Report

Sandisk Corporation (SNDK): Free Stock Analysis Report

Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE): Free Stock Analysis Report

Bloom Energy Corporation (BE): Free Stock Analysis Report

Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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