Groundhog Day is an annual holiday in the United States celebrated every February 2. It was officially established in 1887 by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club who have monitored the event every year since. “Punxsutawney Phil” has been the name of the resident groundhog for the club since its inception, and they jokingly claim there has only ever been one Punxsutawney Phil. According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring. This morning, Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil—arguably the world’s most famous groundhog—emerged from his burrow and did not see his shadow. We will be celebrating spring weather early this year. According to Phil, winter is over!
This morning, Phil’s rival, Staten Island “Chuck” also did not see his shadow agreeing with Phil, predicting an early spring.
Did anyone see the movie Groundhog Day? In the movie, actor Bill Murray plays another Phil, Phil Connors, an arrogant, Scrooge-like weather forecaster who spends the night in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where he is to do a broadcast the next day about the annual ritual of the coming out of the groundhog. The following morning, Phil, who does not like the assignment or Punxsutawney, grudgingly gives his report on the festivities. He then gets his team on the road back to Pittsburgh, but a blizzard shuts down all travel. The team is forced to return to Punxsutawney and stay another night. Phil wakes up to find that he is reliving February 2, over and over and over again. Repetition is hell!
The phrase “Groundhog Day” has become commonly used as a reference to an unpleasant situation that continually repeats, or seems to.
Watching this market I feel like I’m stuck in “Groundhog Day.” Today is the 10th day in a row with a triple digit move. As I write this the market is down 300 points…. Again!
Eventually, in the movie, Phil becomes depressed and tries more and more drastically to end the repetition of days. In doing so he goes a little batty. Well, in real life we can’t do anything about our stock market “Groundhog Day.” We just have to wait it out. Don’t go batty! It will get better. According to “Punxsutawney Phil” spring is on it’s way. Let’s hope he can put a little “spring” in the market.
Take this time to watch and study.
Steve
The Options Coach