2022 has been a bleak yr for stock markets worldwide. A confluence of world aspects has meant the MSCI World index of huge and mid-cap stocks finished the yr down by nearly 20 % . That’s the most important one-year loss for the index since 2008 when it dropped 40.1% in the course of the financial crisis. But investors waiting for what 2023 might need in store may find it useful to know that stock markets generally deliver a positive begin to the yr following a yr of poor returns. MSCI World index since 1970 CNBC Pro’s evaluation of MSCI World index data since 1970 has found that the index was, 75% of the time, up by a median of 18.4% within the yr following a negative one. To make certain, past performance is just not indicative of future returns. There have been only two instances wherein the index declined on two or more consecutive years: the 1973-1974 fallout from the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, which was compounded by an oil crisis; and the 2000-2002 dotcom crash, which was followed by the 9/11 terror attacks. The information on the primary quarter following a yr of negative returns was generally inconclusive, with the index rising 53.3% of the time by a median of 11%. Conversely, when the index does fall, it declines by a median of 5.7%. In January alone, after a yr of negative returns, the index rose 60% of the time by a median of 4.6%. When stocks didn’t rise, they fell by 3.2% on average. The S & P 500 since 1929 CNBC also analyzed the S & P 500 since 1929, which showed an identical picture. The U.S. large-cap index had a positive return the yr after a nasty one 65% of the time. On average, the index rose by 23.7%. But when it declined, it fell a median of 21.1%. Nonetheless, the index performed worse on a quarterly basis. The S & P 500 declined more often (55%) than it rose after a yr of negative returns. History could repeat itself — Goldman Sachs has forecast a decline of 9% for the primary quarter of 2023. That may bring the S & P 500 all the way down to 3,600 from its current level of around 3,800 points. The investment bank then sees the index rising to three,900 over six months. As for the month of January, after a yr of negative returns, the U.S. index performed very similarly to the MSCI World index. It rose 61.3% of the time by a median of 4.5%. When stocks didn’t rise, they fell by a median of 4.1%. — MSCI derived data for the World index before 1986 by calculating how the index might need performed over that period had the index existed. Data was sourced from FactSet.