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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Good morning. The stock market has rebounded, and then some, since its wartime low on March 30, with the S&P 500 surging about 16 per cent. But market participation in the rally is low compared to prior rallies, such as the post-“liberation day” recovery last year. This is visible in the low proportion of S&P 500 members trading above their 50-day moving average. Just over half of the index is currently above its 50-day moving average; the level topped 80 per cent during the post-“liberation day” recovery last year.
While it’s not just megacap tech stocks that have advanced (microcaps have had a strong moment, too), the big gains have been concentrated. Just five companies — Alphabet, Nvidia, Amazon, Broadcom and Apple — have accounted for half of the index’s gains since April. Healthcare, utilities and consumer staples are lagging.
Weak breadth can indicate a fragile market. While not always a perfect relationship, market returns are typically more stable as breadth increases, particularly when participation rises above 70 per cent, according to Adam Turnquist at LPL Financial. With investor sentiment and trading volumes also muted, is the rally running out of steam? Email us: [email protected].
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