The S&P 500 closed above 7,600 for the first time in early June 2026, capping nine straight weeks of gains powered largely by AI heavyweights like Nvidia. A rally that strong leaves a lot of investors asking the same question: is now a smart time to buy, or is it better to wait for a pullback?

When Is the Best Time to Buy Stocks?

The best time to buy stocks is whenever you have money you will not need for at least five years, regardless of where the market happens to sit that day.

That answer sounds anticlimactic, but it reflects decades of market data showing that time in the market consistently beats attempts to time the market.

The S&P 500 has finished higher in roughly three out of every four calendar years since 1926, which means the odds favor investors who simply get in and stay in.

Why Timing the Market Rarely Works

The biggest problem with waiting for the perfect entry point is that the market's best days tend to cluster right next to its worst ones.

JPMorgan research has shown that an investor who missed just the 10 best trading days over a 20-year stretch would have ended up with roughly half the return of someone who stayed fully invested.

Seven of those 10 best days historically occurred within two weeks of the 10 worst days, which is exactly when nervous investors are most likely to be sitting in cash.

Professional fund managers with full-time research teams struggle to time entries and exits profitably, so the average investor attempting it from a phone app faces long odds.

Does Buying at Record Highs Hurt Returns?

It feels risky to buy when the index is setting records, but history says otherwise.

Analysis from multiple asset managers has found that buying the S&P 500 at an all-time high has historically produced forward returns similar to, and sometimes better than, buying on any random day, because record highs tend to come in long streaks during bull markets.

That said, today's market is not cheap by historical standards, with the S&P 500's forward price-to-earnings ratio sitting near 23 versus a 10-year average closer to 18.6, according to FactSet.

Wall Street remains broadly constructive anyway, and Goldman Sachs recently raised its year-end S&P 500 target to 8,000 on the strength of AI-driven earnings growth.

Elevated valuations are a reason to keep expectations modest and stay diversified, not a reason to sit out entirely.

Are There Better Days or Times to Buy?

Within a single trading day, the first hour after the market opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern tends to be the most volatile, as overnight news and pending orders get digested.

Many experienced investors prefer to place trades between roughly 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern, when prices are typically steadier.

Calendar patterns get more attention than they deserve, including the old claims that Mondays are weak, that September is historically the worst month, and that midterm election years bring choppiness.

These patterns are real in the averages but unreliable in any given year, and the trading costs and taxes involved in exploiting them usually eat whatever edge exists.

For long-term investors, the day of the week you buy matters far less than the number of years you hold.

How Dollar-Cost Averaging Removes the Guesswork

If buying at a record high still makes you uneasy, the practical fix is dollar-cost averaging, which means investing a fixed amount on a set schedule, such as $200 on the first of every month.

You automatically buy more shares when prices dip and fewer when prices spike, smoothing out your average cost without requiring a single prediction.

Most platforms on Benzinga's list of the best stockbrokers let you automate this with recurring purchases and fractional shares, so even $25 a week buys a slice of an index fund.

If you are starting fresh, Public offers commission-free trading with fractional shares and automated recurring investing, which makes it easy to put a dollar-cost averaging plan on autopilot from day one.

When Waiting Actually Makes Sense

There are legitimate reasons to delay buying stocks, and none of them involve predicting the market.

Hold off if you carry high-interest credit card debt, since paying off a balance charging 22% is a guaranteed return no stock can reliably match.

Wait if you lack an emergency fund covering three to six months of expenses, because selling stocks in a downturn to cover a surprise bill locks in losses.

And keep any money you will need within five years, such as a house down payment, out of stocks entirely, since a low-cost index fund cannot guarantee it will be whole when you need it.

Once those boxes are checked, the smartest move is usually picking one of the best online brokers for index funds, setting a recurring buy, and letting the calendar do the work, no matter what the headlines say about 7,600 or the midterms ahead.