Percentage of Stocks Above 50-Day Moving Averages (5/15/08)

Currently, 77% of stocks in the S&P 500 are trading above their 50-day moving averages. As shown in the one-year chart of this indicator below, 77% is an overbought level and it usually doesn't last long without seeing a pullback.

On a sector basis, Energy and Telecom top the list with 89% of stocks trading above their 50-days. Technology is at 87% and just broke to a new one-year high. Healthcare and Consumer Staples currently have the lowest percentage of stocks above their 50-days, as investors have shunned defensive sectors over the last month or so.

Comments

[keoughsc]

Where did you find these graphs?

[Rob_Dublin]

Very interesting. The maket is certainly overbought across a range of sectors and when one examines the graphs above in tandem with the recent lows in the VIX, complacency in the market seems endemic. Wait for the fall.