I do not usually look at the New Highs minus New Lows chart for the NYSE much because I could never manipulate it enough to remove the noise that comes from the index. Well, over this past weekend, I discovered a way to smooth out the noise and find a discernible signal. But before proceeding, lets just introduce the chart. First, this series of charts is on a monthly scale centered around the NYSE New Highs Minus New Lows index from stockcharts.com. The top chart is the S&P 500 and my trust 13 month moving average. The next chart down is a smoothed version of the NewHighs/Lows index. The last two charts are momentum/oscillators that I use across my charting systems. I also drew in a range on the chart to show how extreme it is getting compared to the past.
Now at first glance of the chart, the first word that comes to mind is overbought, if you look at the oscillators. If you look at the smoothed index, you could say "almost overbought" is probably the best way to describe things. Each time in the past, when the index has pierced this upper level, the market has either slowed down its advance for a few months but or corrected. You can also see if the index starts to decline while the S&P continues to climb, that is a warning that the underlying fundamentals or strength of the market is waning. That is not the case now but it was in the lead up to the bubble highs in 2000 and again in 2007.
In looking at the oscillators on this chart, the top oscillator is basically at resistance - this one is a slow moving oscillator and thus argues at the moment that the market could run into resistance around the current levels. At the same time, a break above the 20 period moving average could technically argue for another leg up in the S&P 500. The bottom oscillator is another story. It is approaching 2003 level highs as well as 2000 and 1998. In each instance, the market corrected hard within 6 months. The highs for the 2003 post period was early 2004 before a 9 month correction followed. The 2000 signal confirmed the bear market. The 1997 signal was a precursor to the problems that fall as well as the issues in 1998. At the moment, with its overbought situation, it argues that the current rally could be long in the tooth.
On balance, I am not too concerned yet as the NYSE Highs/Lows index has not hit the top level yet that signifies overbought. I will be watching though when it happens and what the index does next. Bull market remains strong but some headwinds seem to be forthcoming.
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