Five anonymised historical charts were dealt to every player. The Monkey Index returned -0.21% across the same tape.
114 desks completed all five charts.
The 2009 financial crisis was at its peak and credit markets were frozen, leaving half the street convinced consumer spending was broken. Caution won out in the short term, with the stock pulling back -5.5% over the next five trading days.
The Fed had just ended quantitative easing, leaving regional lenders stuck waiting for the interest rate hikes that were supposed to fire up the sector. That flat sideways drift quickly turned sour in the new year, handing investors a 4.1% loss over the next five trading days.
With small-business hiring dragging across a shaky post-crisis recovery, payroll processors were left waiting for the US job market to catch fire. Paychex found no spark, sliding 5.9% over the next five trading days.
With the landmark US healthcare reform shaking up the sector, managed care had ridden a strong spring wave straight into July. The rally ran out of steam on the spot, handing back 6.9% over the next five trading days.
The 2008 financial crisis was gutting industrial demand and freezing global credit, leaving Wall Street dumping heavy engineering stocks regardless of quality. The selling had a little further to run with a 3.5% drop over the next five days, right before a +3619.2% run up to today.