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This week all the major indices finished lower. It’s the first negative week across the board in quite some time.

Even with that slight weakness, the bigger picture remains very bullish. Although, September has been historically the weakest month of the year, it didn’t matter. The bull market shrugged it off and kept moving higher.

September is now closing with the S&P 500 logging five straight months of gains.

In fact, September saw eight new all-time highs.

That is not something to fear, it is something to respect. New highs are one of the most bullish signals you can get.

History shows that when September makes new highs, the fourth quarter is higher 90% of the time.

Few things in markets are as powerful as all-time highs.

So don’t sit on the sidelines waiting for crashes or bear markets. They are feared and talked about constantly, but they do not happen nearly as often as people think. The average bull market lasts over five years, while the average bear market lasts about one year.

Odds favor staying invested.

This is also why the S&P 500 closing September with a five-month winning streak matters.

Every time in history the index has gone on a run like that, the following year has been higher nearly every time, with an average gain of over 12%.

At the same time, we will get a pullback at some point. That should not be viewed as a negative. Pullbacks are normal and healthy inside bull markets.

Seasonally this is the time when weakness often shows up, late September into mid-October. Short-term dips during this period often create the best opportunity ahead of the strongest time of the year -the fourth quarter and the year-end rally.

The playbook has not changed.

Leaders continue to lead and laggards continue to lag. Outperformance comes from owning the strongest sectors, not the weakest. That is where the biggest winners always…