Over the long term, the stock market is driven by underlying economic, financial and global growth. But in the short run, the market is driven by simple greed and fear, which are dictated by human emotions. During periods of prosperity, the stock market often rises faster than underlying earnings. During tough economic times, political uncertainty, and low consumer confidence, the stock market often performs worse than the underlying fundamentals predict.
Don’t try to time the market. As tempting as it is to try, it is not possible to time the stock market. People have written millions of pages of research on this topic and NO ONE has ever found a legitimate way to determine its trends.