A stumbling stock market faces a crucial summer test. Can the bull survive?

Call it the end-of-summer blues.

History shows that things can get ugly — and volatile — for the U.S. stock market in August and September. So a rocky start to the month shouldn’t be a big surprise. Indeed, even bulls might pine for some near-term consolidation after a torrid run that saw the S&P 500 index SPX rally nearly 20% over the first seven months of 2023. Through Friday’s close, the index is still up nearly 25% from its bear-market closing low of 3,577.03 hit on Oct. 12.

But…