Wall Street loves a good narrative, but it turns out the best market predictor might not be a Fed chair—it might be a stable.
As Tuesday marks the beginning of the year of the Horse, investors are leaning into a quirky but historically consistent trend: the Chinese Zodiac's four-legged alpha.
NVDA stock is moving. See the chart and price action here.
The Four-Legged Factor
Data suggests that the stock market has a distinct preference for animals that walk on all fours, as Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, highlighted on X.
Year of the Horse starts next week. 🐴
Turns out, animals that walk on four legs are historically better for stocks.
The strongest five zodiac signs walk on four legs, while the worst two don't. pic.twitter.com/O00snPQ8Xm
— Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) February 13, 2026
According to historical S&P 500 performance data, the Horse, Goat, Ox, Pig and Dog represent the strongest performing years in the 12-year cycle.
Conversely, two-legged signs—the Rooster and the Monkey—have historically sat at the bottom of the returns pile.
Historically, Horse years have delivered double-digit gains, fueled by the galloping energy the sign represents.
There is a humorous irony in the fact that the most bullish years come from animals with four legs, while years represented by animals with two legs or no legs tend to struggle.
Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang recently noted that the Horse is synonymous with speed, strength and forward momentum.
“This year is the year of the Horse. So, it's going to be a very good year," Huang said.
"This year is the year of the Horse. So, it's gonna be a very good year" – Jensen Huang pic.twitter.com/EGvx1jG78l
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) February 2, 2026
Animal Spirits
While serious analysts point to interest rates and earnings, the Zodiac effect taps into a psychological phenomenon.
When a tech titan like Nvidia's Huang aligns a company's outlook with cultural symbols of prosperity, it bolsters sentiment, and believing the year of the Horse will be profitable can become a self-fulfilling prophecy in a market ruled by animal spirits.
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在亚洲，中国的国内生产总值增长预期将放缓，主要是由于中国主要贸易伙伴的经济增长放缓及贸易壁垒持续上升，导致出口增长放缓。与此同时，主要东南亚经济体的GDP增长预计将受到财政和货币政策下的消费和投资增长的支持。尽管如此，由于大宗商品价格走软、美国关税和全球贸易增长放缓可能会拖累这些经济体的出口，预计大多数经济体的增长将相对于2025年放缓。
全球经济前景面临上行和下行风险。一方面，人工智能投资周期的上涨强于预期可能会为电子产品需求提供更大的提振，并推动股市进一步上涨。前者将对全球贸易产生积极的溢出效应，而后者可能会使全球消费免受财富效应的影响。另一方面，关税行动的重新升级或地缘政治紧张局势的爆发可能导致经济不确定性的重新抬头，这将打压企业和家庭的情绪。这可能会抑制商业投资和招聘。
此外，避险情绪升级或全球人工智能相关资本支出突然回调可能引发全球金融市场大幅调整，并对更广泛的经济活动产生溢出效应。
在此背景下，新加坡制造业和贸易相关行业2026年增长前景自11月以来有所改善。在制造业中，由于人工智能投资热潮导致数据中心终端市场对半导体芯片的强劲需求，电子集群预计将以比之前预期更快的速度增长。这将对pricesion工程集群以及贸易部门的机械、设备和供应部门产生积极的溢出效应。与此同时，航空航天和海洋与近海工程领域的强劲订单将继续推动运输工程集群的增长。
与此同时，主要的外向型服务业预计也将实现健康增长。特别是，信息和通信行业将得到企业对人工智能和其他数字解决方案的持续需求的支持，而金融和保险行业将得到有利的宏观经济和金融状况的支持。