March 12, 2012 Mixed Day
While the DJIA and the S&P500 closed higher for the fourth straight day, the NASDAQ lost -.16 percent. The resulting pattern plus four for the DJIA and the S&P500, and minus one for the NASDAQ has happened just eight other times in the past 13 years. Further, our diagram shows this combination favoring turning points and turning points, with just two incidents happening elsewhere. Note also that the following day is split evenly, with prices moving higher on four subsequent days and declining on four occasions.Another significant feature of todays price changes is the small size compared to previous results. The S&P500 gain of .02 percent, is just a tenth of its median .23 percent change for this pattern. The DJIA and the NASDAQ show similar disparities, with closes in the past greater than todays.Finally, since so many of the recent closes, just like todays, bunch at turning points, be aware that prices could be on the verge of declines.
DJIA .29 percentNASDAQ -.16 percentS&P500 .02 percent