August 6, 2008
The NASDAQ advanced 1.21 percent while the other two indices moved higher by .33 percent. This was the second straight positive day, and follows immediately after these averages fell for three days in a row.
There have been 18 such runs -that is, a +2/-3 chain- since 1977, five of which took place since 2000. Moreover, all of those in this century have the NASDAQ gain, like today, substantially higher than either the DJIA or the S&P500 advance.
In the past, on the following day, the NASDAQ continued higher 11 times, whereas the DJIA had 10 such days, while the S&P500 had an even number of plus and minus closes.
However, the ratio of positive days declines when looking at only the performance since January 2000. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P500 had two positive days and three declining days. The DJIA, however, scored only one advance, suffering four negative closes.
DJIA .33 percent
NASDAQÂ… 1.21 percent
S&P500 .33 percent