The Stock Market Sent A Signal In February That Almost Perfectly Predicted This Year's Huge Rally

Few people know more about obscure stock market patterns than Sam Stovall, S&P Capital IQ's Chief Equity Strategist.

When Business Insider asked Stovall for his best chart of the year, he submitted this pattern that basically predicted this year's huge returns. It comes from a March 25 presentation that his team gave to clients.

It illustrates the annual returns for the S&P 500 during years when it closed positively during the first two months of the year.

On average, the S&P gains 24%.

So far this year, it's up 27%.

That's a breath-takingly small margin of error.

"As always, remember history is a guide, but never gospel," says Stovall.

Check it out.