May 14, 2009
A good day at the start, evaporated as the session wore one. At the close, the NASDAQ had gained 1.50 percent, followed by the S&P500 at .97 percent and the DJIA up .55 percent. Although the indices moved in the same direction today, their recent pattern of ups-and-downs is not uniform.
The DJIA continued its seesaw of gain then loss for the eighth day in a row, whereas the other two indices posted their first positive day after three declines. This pattern has repeated 16 times before, with five occurrences since January 2000.
Noteworthy is the fact that every one of these five 21st century events came either at, or near, the top of a strong, rising market.
The indices do not have a consistent record for the following day. The NASDAQ has 10 increases and 6 declines; while the S&P500 scored the same number of gains as losses. The DJIA fell 9 times and rose on 7 days.
The outlook posted yesterday, based on the past, failed to provide the correct direction of todays market, especially since the number of negative days had a far larger number of declines than increases.
DJIA .55 percent
NASDAQ 1.50 percent
S&P500 .97 percent