A Stock Market Selloff Needs a Trigger. Here’s What Could Cause the Next One.

A rocky week in the markets has traders, investors, and strategists at Defcon 2, peering into the horizon for the enemy—a stock market correction. But while there are some troubling signals, corrections—drops of 10% from recent highs—don’t just happen, just like bull markets don’t die of old age. There has to be a reason.

The Defcon level, however, can rise even without a reason. Time and valuation both have merit as signals, though neither can tip the market into correction on their own and neither is flashing Defcon 1,…