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BreadthToday’s S&P 500 members since 2010 · US industries since 1926 · as of October 6, 2026

How Many S&P 500 Stocks Move Against the Index

The share of stocks whose beta to the S&P 500 is below zero: stocks that have tended to rise on the index’s down days and fall on its up days. A high share means the index and much of its membership have come apart. It does not, on its own, mean those stocks are falling.

Negative beta share3-month · S&P 500
25.5%
Extreme
494 members · median since 2010 1.2%
1-year
18.7%
record 18.9%
Record
43%
August 2026
Industries
27%
August 2026

Extreme above the pre-2026 record (17.3%); elevated above five times the median.

Latest read

On October 6, 2026, 25.5% of S&P 500 members had a negative beta to the index over the last three months, against a median of 1.2% since 2010; the record is 43.1% on August 10, 2026, and before 2026 the high was 17.3%. Over a year of weekly returns the share is 18.7%, against a record of 18.9%. Across 49 US industries the share reached 28.6% in July 2026, the highest since 1926 and above 18.4% in February 2001. Over the same three months the median member returned −2.8% among positive-beta stocks and −3.0% among negative-beta ones, while SPY returned +4.5%.

Sources, methodology & freshnessDaily closes for today's S&P 500 members and SPY from our price database; Ken French's 49 industry portfolios and the CRSP market factor · Daily for members; the industry history updates monthly with Ken French's data library.Data as of 2026-10-06 · Open ↓
Source
Daily closes for today's S&P 500 members and SPY from our price database; Ken French's 49 industry portfolios and the CRSP market factor
Methodology
Least-squares beta over 63 daily returns (and 52 weekly returns); share of members, and of 49 industries, below zero; episodes at a 10% industry share after a 252-session gap, graded against all days since 1927
Updates
Daily for members; the industry history updates monthly with Ken French's data library.Data as of 2026-10-06
Maintained & reviewed by Yuriy Matso — methodology shown on the page.
01

S&P 500 members with a negative 3-month beta

Range:
0%21.5%42.9%20122014201620182020202220242026SPY25.5%
The share of today's S&P 500 members whose beta to SPY over the last 63 sessions of daily returns is below zero, every session since 2010. At October 6, 2026 it is 25.5%, against a median of 1.2%; the record is 43.1% on August 10, 2026, and before 2026 the high was 17.3% (August 2024). Today's members carried back, so removed companies are missing from the past; this series feeds no study. The grey line is SPY on its own scale.
02

S&P 500 members with a negative 1-year beta

The slower measure: a year of weekly returns, so a high reading here means the split between the index and its members has lasted for months.

Range:
0%9.4%18.9%20122014201620182020202220242026SPY18.7%
The share of today's S&P 500 members whose beta to SPY over the last 52 weekly returns is below zero, every week since 2010. At October 6, 2026 it is 18.7%; the record is 18.9% (July 31, 2026), and before 2026 the high was 10.7% (January 2018). Same members, same caveat: no study is built on it. The grey line is SPY on its own scale.
03

Does negative beta mean the rest of the market is falling?

Not by itself. A negative beta describes how a stock moves relative to the index from day to day, not whether it rose. Over the last three months the median negative-beta member returned −3.0% and the median positive-beta member −2.8%, while SPY returned +4.5%. The typical stock lagging the index is a separate fact, and it is the one the Equal Weight vs Cap Weight page measures.

Share of each sector’s members with a negative beta

Energy80% (16/20)
Consumer staples47% (16/34)
Real estate39% (11/28)
Utilities34% (11/32)
Financial30% (20/67)
Health care26% (15/57)
Industrials17% (14/83)
Basic materials17% (4/24)
Consumer cyclical16% (8/51)
Communication services13% (2/15)
Technology11% (9/83)

Most negative betas today

StockBeta3 months
CF Basic materials-1.28−0.9%
APA Energy-1.12+25.8%
DOW Basic materials-1.06−3.0%
XOM Energy-1.03+16.5%
DVN Energy-1.03+10.9%
EOG Energy-1.02+4.9%
FANG Energy-1.01−0.9%
COP Energy-0.97+16.8%
LYB Basic materials-0.96+5.8%
MO Consumer staples-0.93−5.8%
04

US industries moving against the market, since 1926

Range:
0%13.3%26.5%1930194019501960197019801990200020102020US market (July 1926 = 100)27%
Ken French's 49 value-weighted US industry portfolios, each industry's 63-day beta to the CRSP market, the share below zero shown as its weekly high, since 1926, through August 31, 2026 (French publishes monthly). The record is 28.6% in July 2026; before 2026 the high was 18.4% in February 2001. This series has no survivorship gap and carries the study below. The grey line is the CRSP US market's total return on its own log scale.
05

What the market did after past highs

Each time the industry share first reached 10% after a year without doing so, the US market’s return over the next quarter and year. 4 episodes have a completed year: the market was higher in 3 of them, a median +17.5%, against +13.5% for every day since 1927. That is too few cases to call a signal in either direction.

First dayIndustry shareNext quarterNext year
January 192710.0%+5.5%+25.8%
June 199910.2%−0.1%+13.3%
August 200010.2%−14.3%−22.3%
August 202410.2%+7.5%+21.6%
Every day since 1927, median+3.5%+13.5%
CRSP value-weighted US market return including dividends, from Ken French’s factor file. A new episode starts after 252 sessions without a reading at the threshold.

How Negative Beta Tracker Works

  1. 1
    Measure each stock's beta to the index
    Beta is the slope of a stock's daily returns on the S&P 500's (SPY) over the last 63 sessions, about three months. A beta below zero means the stock has tended to rise on the index's down days and fall on its up days. A one-year version uses 52 weekly returns.
  2. 2
    Count how many are below zero
    The headline is the share of today's S&P 500 members with a negative three-month beta, every session since 2010. Because it uses today's members, companies that left the index are missing from the past, so this series is a description and feeds no study.
  3. 3
    Check it against a century of industries
    The same measure on Ken French's 49 value-weighted US industry portfolios, against the whole US market, runs daily since 1926 and has no survivorship problem. French publishes monthly, so it runs one to two months behind.
  4. 4
    Grade what followed past highs
    Every time the industry share first reached 10% after a year without doing so, the US market's return over the next quarter and year is compared with every day since 1927.

Who Uses Negative Beta Tracker

Traders watching market structure
A high share of negative-beta stocks means the index and much of its membership are pulling in different directions, so the index says less about the typical stock than usual.
Portfolio builders looking for diversifiers
Stocks with a negative beta have recently offset the index. The list and the sector breakdown show which ones and where they cluster.
Anyone checking a viral chart
Record negative-beta readings are often presented as a sign that the market is broken. The page shows the reading, what it does and does not mean, and the history of what followed.

Pro Tips

01
Negative beta does not mean falling
A stock with a negative beta moves against the index from day to day. It can still be rising: oil producers rose in a falling market in 2022. To see whether the typical stock is falling, compare equal weight with cap weight.
02
Look at which sectors carry it
Readings driven by defensive sectors, such as energy, consumer staples and utilities, describe a rotation. Readings spread across every sector describe a market where the index and its stocks have come apart.
03
Three months moves faster than a year
The three-month share reacts within weeks and can reverse as fast. The one-year share is slower and is the better read on whether the split has lasted.

Common Issues & Solutions

The share differs from a published chart▾
Published versions use different windows, universes and return frequencies. This page states each: 63 daily returns or 52 weekly returns, today's S&P 500 members against SPY, and 49 industries against the CRSP market.
The industry series stops a month or two ago▾
It comes from Ken French's data library, which updates once a month. The member series is current to the latest close.
Past member readings look too calm▾
The member series uses today's S&P 500 list, so companies that were removed are missing from the past. The industry series has no such gap and carries the history.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does negative beta mean?▾
Beta measures how much a stock moves with the market. A beta of 1 moves in step, 0 is unrelated, and a negative beta means the stock has tended to move the other way: up on the market's down days and down on its up days. Here it is measured on the last 63 trading days of daily returns against the S&P 500.
How many S&P 500 stocks have a negative beta?▾
This page publishes the share every trading day. In a typical market since 2010 it has been about 1%. In 2026 it reached a record, above 40% on the three-month measure, and the one-year measure also set a record.
Is a high negative beta share bearish?▾
Not on the record so far. After the four earlier times the share of US industries with a negative beta first reached 10%, in 1927, 1999, 2000 and 2024, the market was higher a year later three times. Four cases are too few to call a signal, and the page shows each one.
Does negative beta mean most stocks are falling?▾
No. Beta measures direction relative to the index from day to day, not whether a stock rose or fell over a period. Whether the typical stock is lagging the index is a separate question, answered by comparing equal-weight and cap-weight returns.

Explore Other Tools

Equal Weight vs Cap Weight
Whether the typical stock is keeping up with the index.
MA Breadth
How many stocks are above their moving averages.
Hidden Bear Index
How far the typical stock sits below its high.
Advance-Decline Line
Daily advances against declines across the market.
Last updated: 2026-10-06