Stock Market Barometers

Fundamental and technical indicators of the market’s health

Key indexes vs. their 200-day moving averages:

A stock index’s 200-day moving average indicates the basic trend, up or down. It is generally bullish if the index stays above the average.

S&P; 500 (blue-chip stocks): Friday: 1,120.67

200-day moving average: 1,045.22

*

Russell 2,000 index (smaller stocks): Friday: 419.75

200-day moving average: 450.94

*

Price-to-earnings ratio of Standard & Poor’s 500: 24.68*

Based on operating earnings per share, 12 months ended March 31;

average since 1923: 13.5

Dividend yield of the Standard & Poor’s 500: 1.44%

Average dividend yield of blue-chip stocks; avg. since 1923: 4.5%

Weekly new highs vs. new lows on the NYSE: 92/626

Data for the week ended Friday. More highs indicate a bullish trend.

Investment newsletter sentiment:

Stocks’ near-term trend as predicted by 135 independent investment newsletters, weekly survey by Investors Intelligence. The data are often viewed as a contrarian indicator: A rising percentage of bulls can signal a topping market.

July 24

Bullish: 54.3%

Bearish: 23.3%

Correction: 22.4%

*

Friday

Bullish: 52.5%

Bearish: 26.3%

Correction: 21.2%

*

Put-call ratio: 0.45

The ratio of stock put options to call options traded last week on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Ironically, a low put-call ratio--under 0.40--can be construed as bearish because it indicates a high level of optimism, leaving a lot of room for disappointment.

* Now calculated based on operating earnings, which exclude one-time charges--so P/E is lower than if actual earnings were used.

Source: A.G. Edwards & Sons. More information can be found at

https://www.agedwards.com on the World Wide Web.Stock Market Barometers