Prices moved higher for the DJIA, after its decline yesterday, whereas the BASDAQ and the S&P500 closed up for the second day in a row. Though this combination occurred 37 times since the beginning of 1996, 19 of these days are in the current upturn that started in March 2009. The diagram, focusing on just this cycle, shows a further cluster: seven in 2012 that follow an earlier group of four in 2011.
So far our research has not located an explanation of this grouping, nevertheless we present this curiosity, especially because the preponderance of positive days following on the heels of this presence.
Further, we note the significant proportion of gains on the next day following this pattern. These up days come to a total of 32, far in excess of the 5 declines; by coincidence, only five such days came during the two bear markets of this period. The balance of 32 happened in the course of the three bull markets of this century.
DJIA .25 percent
NASDAQ .41 percent
S&P500 .06 percent
