August 11, 2008
All three indices rose today; it was the second up close in as many days.
The NASDAQ increase was 1.07 percent, while the S&P500 gained .69 percent and the DJIA was up only .40 percent. In words, then, the NASDAQ moved ahead 2.68 times as much as the DJIA; the NASDAQ to S&P500 price change ratio is 1.55.
There have been six days, between 1976 and 2005, with price advance ratios of this magnitude. On the three occasions that came before January 2000, all the indices fell on the following day. The record since then is more favorable, with the NASDAQ and the S&P500 falling once on the next day, and increasing on the other two. The DJIA, however, had two negative closes and only one advance on the following days.
DJIA .40 percent
NASDAQÂ… 1.07 percent
S&P500 .69 percent