Goldman Sachs: The only way for US stocks to go up is to first go down.

Goldman Sachs' trading department warned that the U.S. stock market may need further pullbacks in order to sustain its upward trend. They pointed out that the current market sentiment is fragile and capital flows are unstable, which has left the S&P 500 index in a vulnerable state after recent attempts to break through the 7000 point mark were thwarted. "The only way up from here is down," the department wrote in a report to clients. The overall favorable macro environment has provided little help in absorbing geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity prices, leading to a "painful" short-term trend in the U.S. stock market. Goldman Sachs traders say that the seasonal performance in March is also complex. Since 1928, March has been one of the worst performing months for the S&P 500 index, with the first half of the year showing significant volatility. The average increase in the period from March 1st to March 14th is only 0.3%, but overall performance tends to improve afterwards, with an average increase of 0.8% in the two weeks starting from March 15th.