| | | | | The stock market's 'death cross' is particularly bad news this time around, Bank of America says The dreaded technical 'death cross' has formed in the S&P 500. A death cross occurs when the 50-day moving average falls below the 200-day moving average. The S&P 500 experienced a death cross earlier this month, and a new report from Bank of America's technical analysts explains why this time could be especially painful for investors. "The effects of an S&P 500 Death Cross became amplified when the 5-period slope of the 200 day [moving average] was negative," the analysts wrote. The stock market's recent drop has come fast and furious, with the S&P 500 plunging nearly 5% in the last week and seeing its losses total 8% in three months. The benchmark index even briefly slipped into a correction — defined by a loss of at least 10% from its recent peak. And while trade tensions appear to be thawing, giving investors some hope, there's a technical indicator that poses a threat to bullish momentum. The 'death cross.' A death cross forming in the S&P 500 is never a welcome development for investors. After all, the long-term technical indicator denotes short-term momentum is slowing, and is widely viewed as a bearish signal. And this time around, the death cross could prove even more damaging, according to a new report from Bank of America's technical analysts. The current death cross — when a security's short-term moving average falls beneath its 200-day moving average, or in popular cases the 50-day falling beneath its 200-day — which formed on December 7, features a declining 200-day moving average. That bodes particularly poorly for the market, if history is any indication. "The effects of an S&P 500 Death Cross became amplified when the 5-period slope of the 200 day [moving average] was negative," technical research analysts Stephen Suttmeier and Jordan Young wrote in a note to clients out Tuesday. "This scenario, which is the present case, saw average and median returns drop by 2.72% and 4.31%, respectively for 20-day returns. Performance for all periods going out to the 195-day return window became impaired." Zooming out and examining more historical context for death crosses featuring falling 200-day moving averages paints an even grimmer picture. The percentage of time the market rose following S&P 500 death crosses while the 200-day was in decline dropped to 25% from 59.43% for the 20-day return period, according to the report. Furthermore, "the standard deviation of returns dropped across all return periods, implying more consistent inhibited returns after a Death Cross with a declining 200-day MA." The analysts noted the current death cross is just the 47th-ever such formation in the S&P 500 since 1928. Now read: BANK OF AMERICA: Investors are about to put the global economy through a 'major stress test' — and the risks of failure are high 'It ends next year': What Wall Street's biggest firms are forecasting for the stock market in 2019, and where they say you should put your money Read » |
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