December tends to be quiet. Here's what investors need to know

Market Trend Analysis - December trading tends to be quiet towards the end of the year, anticipating the Santa Claus rally [1] - Historically, September is the only month with a negative median return since 1990 [2] - December tends to be positive about 80% of the time [3] - A model based on the median since 1928 suggests a dip in the middle of December followed by a rally into year-end [6] - When markets are up significantly coming into December, consolidation is expected for the first half of the month [7][10] Volatility Analysis - The VIX volatility index generally moves inversely to stock prices [8] - Post liberation day saw a significant spike in VIX [8] - VIX typically decreases from October into the end of the year as traders go on holiday [9] Trading Strategy - Markets tend to rise or move sideways as volatility decreases [10] - Small caps tend to outperform large caps like the S&P 500 [11] - The Santa Claus rally encompasses the last five trading days of December and the first two of the new year [11] Risk Management - Stocks rarely crash in December, with 2018 being a notable exception [10] - Significant sell-offs at the end of the year tend to coincide with market bottoms and tops [10] - Seasonality only accounts for about one-third of price action, with catalysts and daily events accounting for at least two-thirds [7]