March 29, 2011 Repeat Repeats
Yesterday had the same, unusual pattern as March 21 Tuesday of last week. Today continues that duplication, with an increase following yesterdays decline. The markets involvement with such echoes seems atypical and out of character. Yet periods of rising prices, as well as periods of falling prices, are far from continuous.
Todays diagram plots the daily closing prices of the S&P500 since January 2010. Each of the blue triangles marks, not a swift change in direction, but rather a period of minor up and down fluctuations. Following that phase of marking time, prices return to their trend of increase or decrease.
Notice, also, that the consequence of a startling or surprising happening is quite different, as shown by the sharp price drop following the nuclear disaster in Japan. The red line marks this event.
The most recent high of February 18, shown by the black vertical line, initiated the recent tremors; it illustrates the familiar flutter of small, repetitive up and downs that interrupted previous major changes in the level of prices.
DJIA .65 percent
NASDAQ .96 percent
S&P500 .71 percent