Trading is all about the odds. Trade when the odds are in your favor. Exercise patience and stand aside when the odds are NOT in your favor. Stocks are in a bear market with the vast majority of names (76%) trading below their 200-day SMAs. Clearly, the odds are NOT in our favor for equities and equity ETFs. Traders need to look elsewhere. Today’s report will highlight some non-equity leaders and analyze Bitcoin as it sets up.

TrendInvestorPro works with a ChartList that has 72 ETFs covering all sectors, the key industry groups, commodities, bonds and crypto. Note that this curated ChartList is available to TrendInvestorPro subscribers. The image below is sorted by the percentage above the 200-day SMA (blue shading) to show the top 20 performers. This simple performance overview reveals a lot. We are NOT in a bull market and alternative assets are attracting attention (gold, Bitcoin).

First, we see leadership from gold, silver, Bitcoin, and commodity-related ETFs. Second, only a handful of equity ETFs are trading above their 200-day SMAs. Third, these ETFs represent defensive groups (Consumer Staples Utilities, MLPs, Aerospace & Defense, Insurance). This is NOT the performance profile for a bull market. We are in a bear market and equities are not the place to be right now.

Improve your odds and stay on the right side of the market with the models and analysis at TrendInvestorPro. Our stock market model turned bearish in mid March, and remains bearish. Even with the big surge on April 9th, our thrust indicators fell well short of a signal because of weak follow through. We will continue to watch these models and focus on equity alternatives. Click here to get a bonus and learn more!  

The Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) is in the leadership group and Bitcoin ($BTCUSD) is bouncing off its 270 day SMA. Where did 270 come from? A typical 200-day SMA covers a little less than 9 months of trading days, which exclude weekends and holidays. Bitcoin trades 24/7, weekends and holidays. Chartists, therefore, need an adjustment to get the ~9-month equivalent for Bitcoin. I chose 270.

The chart below shows Bitcoin ($BTCUSD) with a classic correction and setup in the making. Bitcoin gained over 100% from September to January and was entitled to a correction. Dow Theory teaches us that normal corrections retrace 33 to 67 percent of the prior advance. 50 percent is the base case. The chart shows the Fibonacci retracements with Bitcoin retracing 61.8% as it fell to 75000. Bitcoin also tested the rising 270-day SMA in March and April. A 61.8% retracement and return to the ~9-month SMA are normal for corrections (blue shading).

A falling wedge formed with Bitcoin establishing resistance at 88000 (pink line). Falling wedge patterns are also typical for corrections. More importantly, these patterns provide levels to watch for a trend reversal. Bitcoin is making its first breakout attempt with a move above the upper trendline. Further strength above 88000 would forge a higher high and argue for a new uptrend. I would then set a re-evaluation level at the 270-day SMA. A close below this moving average would suggest a failed breakout.  

TrendInvestorPro keeps you on the right side.

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The week that went by was a short trading week with just three trading days. However, the Indian equities continued to surge higher, demonstrating resilience, and the week ended on a positive note. In the week before this one, the Nifty was able to defend the 100-week MA; last week, it surged higher and closed just at the 50-week MA. The trading range got narrower; the Index oscillated in a 665.35-point range. The volatility, too, cooled off; the India Vix declined by 23.08% to 15.47. While staying largely stable with a strong underlying bias, the headline Index closed with a net weekly gain of 1023.10 points (+4.48%).

There are a few technical levels that need to be closely observed. The Nifty resisted the 100-day moving average (DMA) at 23395 before breaking out above that level. Zooming out to the weekly chart, the Nifty has closed at the 50-week MA, currently placed at 23885. This point and the 200-DMA at 24050 create an important resistance zone for the Nifty. While there is room for Nifty to move higher towards the 24000 level, there are strong possibilities of the markets consolidating between the 23900 and 24000 levels. While no major drawdowns are expected, there is a high chance that the upmove may at least take a breather around this level. It is important to watch Nifty’s behavior against this level.

The coming week may start on a stable note; the levels of 24,000 and 24,210 are likely to act as resistance points. The support will come lower at 23500 and then at 23345, which is the 20-week MA.

The weekly RSI is 53.94; it has formed a 14-period high, indicating a bullish trend. The weekly MACD has shown a positive crossover; it is now bullish and trades above its signal line.

The pattern analysis on the weekly chart shows that the Nifty has returned to the important level of the 50-week moving average, which it previously violated when it initiated its corrective move. This level and the 200-DMA placed at a short distance at 24050 are likely to offer resistance. This would mean that the markets are entering a major resistance zone; unless 24050 is taken out on the upside, we can expect the markets to consolidate, showing minor retracements over the coming days.

Overall, it is time for one to focus on protecting the gains at higher levels. While one may continue staying invested on the long side, new purchases must focus on the pockets that have shown the improvement of relative strength at lower levels and show strong signs of reversing their trend. Effective rotation into sectors that show improvement in their relative strength and protecting gains in the pockets that have run up hard would be important. A cautiously positive outlook is advised for the coming week.

Sector Analysis for the coming week

In our look at Relative Rotation Graphs®, we compared various sectors against CNX500 (NIFTY 500 Index), which represents over 95% of the free float market cap of all the stocks listed.

Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG) show the Nifty PSU Bank and Consumption sector Index has rolled inside the leading quadrant. The Commodities, Financial Services, Banknifty, Infrastructure, and Metal Index are also placed inside the leading quadrant. While the Metal Index is showing a weakening of relative momentum, these groups are likely to relatively outperform the broader Nifty 500 index.

There are no sectors inside the weakening quadrant.

The Pharma Sector Index has rolled inside the lagging quadrant. The IT index also continues to languish inside this quadrant, along with the Midcap 100 index. The  Realty and the Media Indices are also inside the lagging quadrant; however, they are seen sharply improving their relative momentum against the broader markets.

The Nifty PSE, Energy, and FMCG Indices are inside the improving quadrant; they are expected to continue improving on their relative performance over the coming week.

Important Note: RRG™ charts show the relative strength and momentum of a group of stocks. In the above Chart, they show relative performance against NIFTY500 Index (Broader Markets) and should not be used directly as buy or sell signals.  

Milan Vaishnav, CMT, MSTA

Consulting Technical Analyst

www.EquityResearch.asia | www.ChartWizard.ae

Reflecting on the price action over this shortened holiday week, I’m struck by how the leadership trends have not really changed too much.  We’ve observed bombed out market breadth indicators, and the S&P 500 remains clearly below its 200-day moving average despite a strong upside swing off the early April market low.

But how much as the leadership of this market changed over the last couple weeks?  I would argue that conditions remain fairly consistent over that period, and are still not overwhelmingly bullish.

Defensive Sectors Still Outperforming Offense

Here’s one of my favorite charts for analyzing offense vs. defense, a chart that holds a place of honor on my Market Misbehavior LIVE ChartList.  We’re comparing the Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples using both cap-weighted and equal-weighted ETFs.  

When the ratios are going higher, investors are favoring “things you want” over “things you need” which implies optimism for economic growth.  When the ratios slope lower, that suggests more defensive positioning as investors are skeptical of growth prospects.

We can see that the cap-weighted version of this ratio made a peak in January, while the equal-weighted version made its own top in February.  Both ratios have been in a fairly consistent downtrend of lower highs and lower lows, even through last week’s sudden spike on tariff policy changes.

How bullish do I want to be when these ratios are sloping lower?  Generally speaking, I’ve found that until investors start believing in the upside potential of Consumer Discretionary over the relative defense of Consumer Staples, it’s best to remain on the sidelines.

Using the RRG to Visualize Offense vs. Defense

While I often refer to relative strength ratios of sector ETFs vs. the S&P 500 index, I also enjoy leveraging the power of Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG®) to monitor a series of relative strength ratios in one simple but powerful visualization.

Here I’m showing the 11 S&P 500 economic sectors relative to the S&P 500, and I’m highlighting Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples to monitor their relative positions.  If you click “Animate” for this visualization, you’ll see that toward the end of 2024, offense was clearly outperforming defense.  The XLY was in the Leading quadrant, the XLP was in the Lagging quadrant, and the rotations suggested a classic bull market configuration.

Fast forward to February and March, and you’ll see how Consumer Discretionary rotated into the Weakening and then Lagging quadrant, while Consumer Staples strengthened during that same period.  At this point, the RRG is telling me defense over offense, in a classic bearish configuration.

Sticking With Groceries, Guns, and Gold

So given the bearish leadership configuration in spite of a sudden bounce of the April market low, where can we find potential opportunities?  I’ll highlight three ideas that I’ll summarize as “Groceries, Guns, and Gold.”

Playing off the “things you need” theme implied above, grocery retailer Kroger Co. (KR) has managed to pound out a fairly consistent pattern of higher highs and higher lows.  With improving momentum and a new 12-month relative high this week, this is a chart continuing in a clear uptrend despite broad market weakness.  By the way, KR was one of the Top Ten Charts for April 2025 I presented with Grayson Roze!

Defense stocks like Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) have experienced an upside resurgence given geopolitical instability in 2025.  From a technical perspective, I love how charts like NOC have rallied since mid-February while most stocks as well as our equity benchmarks have been trending lower!  There’s a significant resistance level to overcome around $550, but a confirmed break higher could open the door to further gains.

Gold has experienced an incredible run so far in 2025, finishing the week up 26% for the year compared to the S&P 500’s 10% loss over the same period.  Similar to the chart of NOC, Newmont Corporation (NEM) is addressing a key resistance level from a major high in October 2024.  But so far in 2025, NEM has been scoring higher highs and higher lows, potentially building momentum for a break to a new all-time high.

It can be super tempting to consider the April low as “the bottom” and go all-in on growth stocks and offensive plays.  But given the lack of leadership rotation in April, I’m inclined to stick with charts that remain in strong uptrends during uncertain times.

RR#6,

Dave

PS- Ready to upgrade your investment process?  Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

President and Chief Strategist

Sierra Alpha Research LLC

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.  The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.  

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication.    Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

It was another erratic week in the stock market. There were several market-moving events sprinkled throughout this short trading week, including earnings, escalation of tariff wars, and Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks at the Economic Club of Chicago. This extended to wild swings in the bond market as well.

We had several positive earnings from banks and Netflix, Inc. (NFLX). Others, such as UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (UNH), disappointed, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) lower by 1.33%.

Chairman Powell stated that tariffs could increase inflation. This would cause economic growth to slow down and unemployment to increase. The hope is that inflation is transitory, and, after it becomes stable, the Fed can continue to focus on its dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability.

It’s an insecure time for investors, and many feel the pain. You’re probably wondering how long this pain will go on for. In an uncertain environment, the best you can do is turn to the bond market.

It’s All About Bonds

The recent wild swinging market activity can be encapsulated in the price action of Treasury yields. Since 2024, yields have been swinging up and down. In the past year, the 10-year Treasury yield has ranged from 3.60% to 4.81%, and when the range is this wide, it’s an indication of economic instability. Not to mention, economic instability could result in a weaker economy.

The daily chart of the 10-Year US Treasury Yield Index ($TNX) gives you an idea of the range of yields in the last year. More recently, the yield has risen from 3.89% to 4.59%, and has now pulled back to its 50-day simple moving average (SMA).

FIGURE 1. DAILY CHART OF 10-YEAR TREASURY YIELDS. Yields have been seeing some large up and down swings.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Generally, when stock prices fall, bond prices rise. Since bond yields move inversely to bond prices, you’d expect yields to fall. This scenario isn’t playing out. Instead, we’re seeing yields move erratically while bond prices remain suppressed. There needs to be stability in bond yields before a stock market recovery, and one way to do that is to monitor the chart of the Merrill Lynch Option Volatility Estimate, referred to as the MOVE Index ($MOVE).

The MOVE Index tracks bond volatility. Think of it as the bond counterpart to the Cboe Volatility Index ($VIX). The chart below displays the $MOVE/$VIX relationship, with the correlation between the two in the lower panel.

FIGURE 2. THE MOVE INDEX VS. VIX. A high correlation between the MOVE Index and VIX suggests interest rates and stock prices are tightly connected. A lower correlation would indicate stability in equities.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The two have been highly correlated since the end of March, which indicates that stocks and interest rates are tightly connected. This means the wild up and down swings in equities could continue. When the two are less correlated, we can expect equities to start settling down. Looking at the above chart, a correlation of 0.80 would be sufficient for signs of stability.

Both $VIX and $MOVE have come back slightly, but their correlation is at 0.93, which is relatively high.

Be sure to save both charts displayed in this article to your ChartLists. They could alert you to stability in the stock market ahead of other indicators.

The Bottom Line

Until stability returns, you could do the following:

• Stay on the sidelines and keep some dry powder.
• Invest in risk-off instruments such as gold and silver.
• Park some of your money in defensive sectors.

Equities could slide lower before stability returns. If this happens, you could pick up some growth stocks for a bargain.

An empowered investor comes out ahead after market instability. So monitor the market closely and, when the time is right, make wise investment decisions.

End-of-Week Wrap-Up

• S&P 500 down 1.50% on the week, at 5282.70, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.66% on the week at 39,142.23; Nasdaq Composite down 2.62% on the week at 16,286.45.
• $VIX down 21.06% on the week, closing at 29.65.
• Best performing sector for the week: Energy
• Worst performing sector for the week: Consumer Discretionary
• Top 5 Large Cap SCTR stocks: Palantir Technologies, Inc. (PLTR); Elbit Systems, Ltd. (ESLT); Anglogold Ashanti Ltd. (AU); Just Eat Takeaway.com (JTKWY); Kinross Gold Corp. (KGC)

On the Radar Next Week

• Earnings season continues with Haliburton (HAL), Tesla (TSLA), Boeing Co. (BA), International Business Machines (IBM) and others reporting.
• 30-Year Mortgage Rates
• March New Home Sales and Building Permits
• April S&P PMI
• April Consumer Sentiment
• Fed speeches from Jefferson, Harker, Kashkari, and others.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

In this video, Grayson unveils StockCharts’ new Market Summary ChartPack—an incredibly valuable new ChartPack packed full of pre-built charts covering breadth, sentiment, volatility data and MUCH MORE!

From there, Grayson then breaks down what he’s seeing on the current Market Summary dashboard, illustrating how he’s putting this invaluable tool to work in the current climate. He highlights weakness in Small Cap stocks, uses the Factors Map to pinpoint the groups that investors are gravitating to, and explains why the sea of red across the breadth maps continues to be a clear indication of the weakness in this market.

This video originally premiered on April 18, 2024. Click on the above image to watch on our dedicated Grayson Roze page on StockCharts TV.

You can view previously recorded videos from Grayson at this link.

Stocks vs. bonds? In this video, Julius breaks down the asset allocation outlook and why defensive sectors, large-cap value, and bonds may continue to outperform in this volatile market. He starts at the asset allocation level using Relative Rotation Graphs (RRGs) to analyze stocks vs bonds performance, then highlights the ongoing defensive sector rotation, and identifies strength in large-cap value stocks.

To close out the show, Julius dives into stock-specific opportunities based on the relative rotation of sector constituents, pointing to potential leadership shifts as market volatility rises.

This video was originally published on April 17, 2025. Click on the icon above to view on our dedicated page for Julius.

Past videos from Julius can be found here.

#StayAlert, -Julius

Technically, it’s rather clear that we remain in a downtrend. However, not all downtrends are created equal. Some are built to last, while others can turn around quickly. Recognizing the difference is obviously quite important. What most traders/investors cannot grasp is that secular (long-term) bull markets often see corrections or cyclical (short-term) bear markets. Both of these are much, much different than a secular bear market and present tremendous opportunity. Many market participants believe every downturn is the start of a lengthy secular bear market and that’s a problem. Always believing the worst-case scenario makes it incredibly difficult to benefit from cheaper prices by entering stocks during downtrends. By waiting and watching the market move higher again, market participants will be forced to buy back in much higher due to FOMO, or the fear of missing out.

Trading out and then back in purely based on emotion – panicking out and then getting back in due to the fear of missing out – is the exact way to ruin any hope of financial success in the stock market. The first question I’d ask everyone is….do you believe that the big Wall Street firms get out of the stock market (or rotate to safer stocks) before you and me? Then, do you believe they get back into aggressive areas of the market before you and me? If you answered yes to both questions, we have something in common. If you believe that stock market performance is random, then we can’t be friends. (just kidding)

I have a way of proving my theory that Wall Street manipulates all of us and I’ll get to that in a bit. First, though, from a purely technical perspective, there is one major industry group that I look to for relative performance during uptrends and downtrends, an aggressive area that helps to provide us clues about the possible future direction of the overall stock market. When these groups are leading on a relative basis, it’s difficult to keep the S&P 500 down. But when they’re lagging, it opens the door to potential market tops and not-so-great action ahead.

This group shouldn’t be a big surprise.

Semiconductors ($DJUSSC)

Semiconductors are used in so many things that we buy nowadays, so it makes perfect sense that the performance of this industry group not only can determine which way the S&P 500 is going to go, but it also provides us a sense of what Wall Street believes about our economy. As the economy improves (or is expected to improve), this group typically explodes in anticipation of that demand. The following 10-year weekly chart of the S&P 500 and the relative strength of semiconductors ($DJUSSC:$SPX) illustrates perfectly my point:

Since early 2016, the S&P 500 has seen its weekly PPO move below zero four times. Just before or at the time of those bearish crossovers, the DJUSSC rolled over on a relative basis vs. the S&P 500. Wall Street was selling ahead of the crowd, getting out before telling you and me to get out. You can also see in that bottom panel that it resulted in inverse, or negative, correlation. Over the past 10 years, inverse correlation hasn’t happened often. Typically, a strong semiconductor group is accompanied by a strong market, and vice versa.

On the price chart, the blue directional lines on the DJUSSC:$SPX relative price chart mostly accompanies the S&P 500 moving higher (blue-shaded area). Likewise, the red directional lines on the DJUSSC:$SPX relative price chart mostly accompanies the S&P 500 moving lower. But it’s when the DJUSSC and $SPX do NOT move in the same direction that we should take notice.

I believe we’re in a bottoming phase in the stock market. I could certainly be wrong, but I think my track record calling market bottoms is fairly solid. If I’m correct this time, then we should see the DJUSSC start to turn higher on a relative basis on a daily chart. That hasn’t happened yet. Take a look:

On this daily chart, we continue to see very positive correlation, confirming that the DJUSSC and the SPX both tend to move in the same direction. So it stands to reason that if the S&P 500 can clear key price resistance at 5521 and the DJUSSC:SPX relative strength line breaks above its current downtrend resistance, then I’d say the bottom is confirmed. I’d keep an eye on this chart moving forward.

Noise or Reality?

Any time we’re setting new highs or new lows, this is my primary question. Bottoms always form when the market “noise” or “news” is terribly bad. Moving off of lows happens when Wall Street looks 6 to 9 months down the road and sees brighter skies. We can’t feel it, but Wall Street sees it. It’s like we’re brainwashed into believing that today’s bad or uncertain news will carry the stock market lower and lower, when in reality, we’re simply being manipulated as a market bottom approaches.

I want you to join me on Saturday morning, April 19th, at 10am ET for a very important session, “Bear Market 2025: Separate Noise from Reality.” I will discuss several key factors that you need to be aware of RIGHT NOW. You may have already made up your mind as to where the S&P 500 is heading….and that’s totally fine! But making very important financial decisions without considering ALL market angles would be a huge mistake, in my view.

To gain access to our FREE event Saturday, CLICK HERE for more information and to register. Seats are limited, so please register now to avoid being shut out. Also, if you’re reading this AFTER our event, you should still register, because we will be happy to send you a recording of the event to check it out at your leisure.

Happy trading!

Tom

When markets get more volatile and more unstable, I get the urge to take a step back and reflect on simple assessments of trend and momentum.  Today we’ll use one of the most common technical indicators, the 200-day moving average, and discuss what this simple trend-following tool can tell us about conditions for the S&P 500 index.

Nothing Good Happens Below the 200-Day Moving Average

I’ve received a number of questions recently as to why I’m not way more bullish after the sudden rally off last Wednesday’s low.  I love to respond with Paul Tudor Jones’ famous quote, “Nothing good happens below the 200-day moving average.”

To be clear, the 200-day moving average is almost 500 points above current levels, so it would take quite a rally to achieve that price level any time soon.  But with the VIX still well above the 30 level, that means the market is expecting wide price swings and big moves could be very possible.

But generally speaking, any time I see a chart where the price is below a downward-sloping 200-day moving average, I feel comfortable making the basic assumption that the primary trend is down.  And until the SPX can regain this long-term trend barometer, I’m inclined to treat the market as “guilty until proven innocent.”

Tracking the 200-Day With the New Market Summary Page

The new and updated version of the StockCharts Market Summary page features a table of major equity indexes and includes a comparison to the 200-day moving average for each index.  I’ve sorted today’s table in descending order based on this metric, which allows us to compare the relative position of different indexes and focus on which areas of the equity market are showing real strength.

We can see that only the Dow Utilities remain above the 200-day moving average, even with the strong bounce we’ve observed over the last week.  The S&P 500 is about 8% below its 200-day moving average, and for the Nasdaq Composite it’s over 11%.  So this basically implies that the S&P could see another 8% rally, drawing in all sorts of investors, yet still remain in a bearish phase based on its position relative to the 200-day.

Three Stocks Facing a Crucial Test This Week

One chart I’m watching closely this week involves three key growth stocks that are actually very near their own 200-day moving average.  If these Magnificent 7 stocks have enough upside momentum to power through the 200-day, then there could definitely be hope for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to follow suit in the coming weeks.  

Note in the top panel how Meta Platforms (META) powered above the 200-day last Wednesday after the announcement of a 90-day pause in tariffs.  But after closing above the 200-day for that one day, META broke right back below the next day.  META has closed lower every trading day since that breakout.

Neither Amazon.com (AMZN) nor Tesla (TSLA) reached their own 200-day on last Wednesday’s rally, and both are now rapidly approaching their lows for 2025.  And if mega cap growth stocks like META, AMZN, and TSLA are unable to power above their 200-day moving averages, why should we expect our growth-dominated benchmarks to do the same?

With a flurry of news headlines every trading day, and an earnings season that could paint a disturbing picture of lowered expectations for economic growth and consumer sentiment, I feel that there is more downside to be had before the great bear market of 2025 is completed.  But instead of trying to predict the future, I choose to simply follow the trends.  And based on the shape of the 200-day moving average for these important charts, the primary trend appears to still be down.

RR#6,

Dave

PS- Ready to upgrade your investment process?  Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

President and Chief Strategist

Sierra Alpha Research LLC

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.  The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.  

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication.    Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

Moving average strategy, trend trading, and multi-timeframe analysis are essential tools for traders. In this video, Joe demonstrates how to use two key moving averages to determine if a stock is in an uptrend, downtrend, or sideways phase. He then expands on applying this concept across multiple timeframes to gain a significant edge when trading pullbacks.

In addition, Joe provides insights into the current state of commodities, highlighting areas showing signs of improvement, and covers major indices. Finally, he addresses viewer-submitted symbol requests, including LMT, BABA, and more, offering his technical analysis on each.

The video premiered on April 16, 2025. Click this link to watch on Joe’s dedicated page.

Archived videos from Joe are available at this link. Send symbol requests to stocktalk@stockcharts.com; you can also submit a request in the comments section below the video on YouTube. Symbol Requests can be sent in throughout the week prior to the next show.

With so many articles and videos on popular media channels advising you not to look at your 401(k) during this market downturn, avoiding taking the other side is tough. If you are close to retirement or retired, isn’t a market downturn a good excuse to look at your 401(k)? After all, you’ve stashed away hard-earned money to enjoy those big post-retirement plans.

The stock market is well-known for its uncanny ability to throw you surprises, but the recent headline-driven price action is especially difficult to navigate. While it’s true that, over the longer term, the broader market tends to trend higher, if you’re not in a position to patiently wait for that to occur, you may want to reevaluate your portfolio sooner rather than later. The “set-it-and-forget-it” strategy can work at times but not always.

Is the Stock Market Headed Lower?

Let’s look at where the overall stock market stands by analyzing the S&P 500 ($SPX), starting with the daily chart.

FIGURE 1. DAILY CHART OF S&P 500. After falling below its 200-day moving average, the S&P 500 is struggling to remain above at its 5400 level. Will it hold? Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

It’s clear the S&P 500 is trending lower and that the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) has crossed below the 200-day SMA, further confirming the downward trend of the index. After reaching a high of 6147.43 on February 19, 2025, $SPX started its decline, falling below its 50-day SMA and then its 200-day SMA.

Although the index tried to bounce back to its 200-day SMA, it failed to break above it and fell to a low of 4835.04 on April 7, 2025. Since then, the S&P 500 has been trying to bounce back. It filled the April 4 down gap, but has been stalling around the 5400 level since then, on lower volume. It’s almost as if investors are sitting on the sidelines for the next tariff-related news which could send the S&P 500 higher or lower.

Going back, the 5400 was a support level for the September 2024 lows, between the end of July and early August, and in mid-June. There have also been price gaps at this level during those times. The chart of the S&P 500 has a horizontal line overlay at the 5400 level. This could act as a resistance level for a while, or the index could soar above it, in which case this level could act as a support level.

Save the chart in one of your ChartLists and watch how the price action unfolds for the next few weeks.

Where’s the Breadth?

It’s worth monitoring the Bullish Percent Index (BPI) of the S&P 500. The chart below displays the S&P 500 Bullish Percent Index ($BPSPX) in the top panel and $SPX in the bottom panel.

FIGURE 2. BULLISH PERCENT INDEX FOR THE S&P 500. The $BPSPX recovered after falling below 12.5. Even a move over 50 should be eyed with caution. Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The recent slide in the S&P 500 took the $BPSPX to well below 12.5. It has reversed and is above 30, which is encouraging. A rise above 50 is bullish but, as you can see in the chart, the last time $BPSPX crossed above 50 (dashed blue vertical lines), it turned back lower, only to start its descent to the lowest level in the past year. Save your excitement until the $BPSPX is over 50 and a turnaround in the $SPX is in place.

This could take a while, which is why, if you’re close to retirement or already retired, you may have to consider selling the rip, or if the situation turns bullish, buy the dip. It may be time to unwind, so evaluate your portfolio and make decisions that are aligned with your lofty retirement plans.

So, heck yeah! Look at your 401(k) now!

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.