An eerie sense of calm pervades the markets. I say “eerie” because some familiarity with market history can cause observers to view the market’s calmest moments with suspicion.

A recent piece by financial adviser and commentator Ben Carlson noted that the S&P 500 hadn’t experienced down day of 1% or more since early October, and the index hadn’t moved 1% or more in either direction for more than 40 trading days.