Not only has the broad stock market indexes like the S&P 500 advanced sharply with great momentum since late December 2018, but its breadth has also been impressive.

The percent of stocks trading above their 50 day moving averages shows about 92% of stocks are in short term uptrends. This advance not only confirmed the price trend momentum but suggests participation has been broad. More stocks are above their 50-day moving averages that late 2017.

The downside is we are necessarily observing only the past and the past doesn’t assure future performance. In fact, once 92% of stocks are already in shorter-term uptrends, we can start to wonder at what point the buying enthusiasm is exhausted. That is, indicators like this may be observed for signs of an inflection point.

However, the percent of stocks above their 200 day moving averages is at 63%. So applying that same line of thinking, though we shouldn’t be surprised to see short term weakness, we could suppose the longer term trend still has room to run.

We’ll see…

Mike Shell is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Shell Capital Management, LLC, and the portfolio manager of ASYMMETRY® Global Tactical.

Mike Shell and Shell Capital Management, LLC is a registered investment advisor and provides investment advice and portfolio management exclusively to clients with a signed and executed investment management agreement. The observations shared on this website are for general information only and are not specific advice, research, or buy or sell recommendations for any individual. Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal an investor must be willing to bear. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. The presence of this website on the Internet shall in no direct or indirect way raise an implication that Shell Capital Management, LLC is offering to sell or soliciting to sell advisory services to residents of any state in which the firm is not registered as an investment advisor. Use of this website is subject to its terms and conditions.