Tag Archives: market breadth

The stock market does not turn on a dime... at least historically that's been the case. There was always a distinctive topping process going on before the bear finally struck. In every case you can look back and detect the same pattern: a marked deterioration of market internals and of interest rate based indicators before any crash so, if history is our guide, we should not expect this time to be different. So, what should we look for?

The Russell 3000, a broad equity index representing 98% of the investable U.S. stock market, is up 9.3% for 2014 on a total-return basis...[but] the median total return for Russell 3000 constituents is just 1.5% reflecting the fact that small- and mid-cap stocks are under-performing... This current alarming deterioration in breadth, a term that refers to how much of the market is participating in the advance, begs the question: "Is the stock market sitting on a trap door?" This article looks at 2 trap door indicators that suggest that that might, indeed, be the case.

When taking a step back and viewing longer-term gauges, we see warning signs flashing. Many of these readings are in extreme territories, and historically bear markets have occurred from such overbought positioning. We are all cued up for a bear!

Remember the game Musical Chairs? It seems that investors on Wall Street have been playing this game recently, as more and more we are seeing signs that the current bull market may be reaching its final stages. Each new sign that appears represents just one more chair being taken away from the game. The question investors need to ask is "where will I be when the music stops"?

...For US stocks — and by implication most other equity markets — the danger signals are piling up to the point where a case can be made that the end is, at last, near. Take a look at these examples of indicators that should scare the hell out of anyone with a big stock portfolio.

"Where breadth goes, the market usually follows,” goes an old market saying and as Richard Russell said recently, "In a deteriorating market breadth situation where the ‘soldiers’ are deserting even while the ‘generals’ continue to march forward would be a prelude to disaster. In the stock market, it may be the same." [Let's review the current situation and see where we're at.] Words: 478

From a historical standpoint, the dividend yield of 2% on the S&P 500 is too low. It smacks of a stock market top and underscores the point that the market is too optimistic in the sense that investors are willing to forgo yield because they assume that they will get the return via the capital gain. The last time S&P yields were around this level was in the summer of 2000, and we know what happened shortly after that! Words: 888