Last week’s 5.9% rally in the S&P 500 was the best single-week gain since June but it was not enough to shift any of the criteria on our Bull Market Re-Birth Checklist.
More Context: Big weekly moves in either direction have been relatively common this year. The S&P 500 has gained or lost 3% (or more) nineteen times so far this year. The average year since 1945 has seen 6 weekly moves of 3% or more. The record (held by 1974 and 2008) is 21. As I mentioned in last week’s Townhall Takeaways, volatility and strength have tended to be inversely correlated. Our Bull Market Re-Birth Checklist helps cut through the noise of big price swings and looks for evidence that strength could be sustainable. It's close but no cigar for several of the checklist criteria, suggesting the jury is still out on the current move. And after getting to 4 out 5 criteria met during the rally into the August peak, we are looking for 5 out 5 for evidence of a successful delivery.
We take a Deeper Look at where we are seeing improvement on our checklist and where we are already seeing opportunities beneath the surface.
