New Highs – New Lows: 52-Week Breadth Balance vs SPY
Daily 52-week new highs vs new lows across roughly 4,750 eligible US common stocks in a typical session — the leadership gauge. Fresh highs measure leadership being created; fresh lows measure breakdown. The spread, its cumulative line, and the split-market configuration (both high at once) are the inputs behind the Hindenburg Omen.
Today's reading
As of market close on October 5, 2026, 85 US stocks made new 52-week highs (1.8% of issues) and 306 made new 52-week lows (6.4%) — a spread of -221, net breakdown. The cumulative NH-NL line stands at 184,682, measured across 4,745 qualifying issues since 2010. NYSE-listed new lows outnumber new highs by 103 with SPY within 5% of its record. After the 8 earlier graded cases SPY was higher three months later 3 times; section 04 has every one.
Sources, methodology & freshnessDaily OHLCV for eligible US common stocks (several thousand in a session; 2010–present) · Daily after market close (~1:30 PM PT)Data as of 2026-10-05 · Open ↓Close ↑
The cumulative line is falling — net new lows are accumulating and the leadership is narrowing.
Stands at 184,682 · -4,704 over 1mo · -2,709 over 3mo.
SPY closed at $774.83, up 0.2% over the past month. Watch whether the cumulative line confirms the index or diverges from it.
Cumulative NH-NL line by universe
All US Stocks: Cumulative NH-NL Line
Running total of the daily NH−NL spread across every eligible US common stock since 2010, the headline gauge. A rising line is broadening leadership; a falling line under a rising index is the textbook leadership divergence.
S&P 500 Members: Cumulative NH-NL Line
The same running total for today's S&P 500 members (495 of 504 have a year of prices; list as of 2026-10-05). On 2026-10-05: 12 new highs and 18 new lows among 495 scored members.
Nasdaq-100 Members: Cumulative NH-NL Line
The same running total for today's Nasdaq-100 members (99 of 101 have a year of prices; list as of 2026-10-05). On 2026-10-05: 5 new highs and 2 new lows among 99 scored members.
Survivorship caveat. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 lines use today's members all the way back to 2010; we hold no historical membership. Companies removed from either index, often after a run of new lows, are missing, and later additions are counted before they joined. Older readings are therefore biased upward and these lines drift up over time, so read them for recent turns and divergences. Their long-run slope and their level against the all-stocks line carry that bias.
All Nasdaq-Listed Stocks: Cumulative NH-NL Line
Every eligible common stock listed on Nasdaq, 2,495 scored on 2026-10-05 (45 new highs, 162 new lows). Most are small companies, so this line shows the breadth beneath the Nasdaq-100. Membership comes from each stock's listing exchange, so it carries none of the index lines' membership drift.
Daily new highs vs new lows
All US Stocks: New 52-Week Highs vs New 52-Week Lows
New highs above the zero line (green), new lows mirrored below (red), SPY overlaid. 1,000+ new-low days mark indiscriminate liquidation.
Net new highs by universe
Net New Highs as a Share of Each Universe
New highs minus new lows divided by the stocks scored in that universe that day, so a 100-stock index and a 2,500-stock exchange sit on the same scale. A stock is scored once it has a full year of prices.
All US Stocks: Net New Highs (% of Scored Stocks)
S&P 500 Members: Net New Highs (% of Scored Members)
Nasdaq-100 Members: Net New Highs (% of Scored Members)
All Nasdaq-Listed Stocks: Net New Highs (% of Scored Stocks)
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 panels count today's members on every date. A daily share is less exposed to that choice than a running total, but stocks that later left either index are missing from older readings, which leans those readings toward fewer new lows.
NYSE-listed stocks: new lows near a record, and what happened next
On Oct 5, 2026 NYSE-listed stocks set 142 new 52-week lows against 39 new highs, a net of -103, with SPY 0.4% below its record. That meets the rule. The current episode began Sep 9, 2026, 18 sessions ago, and its worst day so far was -314 on Sep 24, 2026.
The rule: NYSE-listed new highs minus new lows at -100 or worse while SPY closes within 5% of its all-time high, counting only the first day of each episode. In the 8 earlier episodes old enough to grade, SPY was higher three months later 3 times, with a median of -3.2% against +3.8% for any session since 2010. The typical episode saw a 10.9% pullback somewhere in those three months.
NYSE-listed net new highs, weekly low, with each episode marked
NYSE-listed net new highs, weekly low, with each episode marked
Median of 8 graded: -3.2% over 3 months against +3.8% for any session.
8 episodes, some only months apart, is a pattern to watch and too few to be a statistic. Our NYSE count is built from today's listed stocks, so companies that later delisted are missing and older readings understate new lows. Measured as a share of NYSE issues instead of a fixed count (-5.79%), the rule finds 9 episodes with a three-month median of -2.9%. Returns are SPY price only.
Reading the current tape
On 2026-10-05, 85 stocks made new 52-week highs and 306 made new 52-week lows across 4,745 qualifying issues — a spread of -221. The cumulative NH-NL line stands at 184,682 with SPY at $774.83.
The cumulative line is falling — net new lows are accumulating and the leadership is narrowing.
Stands at 184,682 · -4,704 over 1mo · -2,709 over 3mo.
SPY closed at $774.83, up 0.2% over the past month. Watch whether the cumulative line confirms the index or diverges from it.
How New Highs – New Lows Works
- 1Track every stock's trailing 52-week rangeFor each eligible US common stock — several thousand in a session — we maintain the rolling 52-week (365-calendar-day) high and low of its daily highs and lows, excluding the current day.
- 2Count the day's new highs and new lowsA stock prints a new high when today's high exceeds its prior 52-week high, and a new low when today's low undercuts its prior 52-week low. Stocks need a full year of history to qualify — recent IPOs are excluded until they do.
- 3NH − NL is the day's leadership balancePositive spreads mean fresh leadership is expanding; negative spreads mean more stocks are breaking down than breaking out. The magnitude matters: triple-digit negative readings with the index near highs are the classic warning.
- 4Accumulate into the cumulative NH-NL lineLike the A-D line, the running total filters daily noise. A falling cumulative NH-NL line during a rising market is a textbook negative divergence — the pattern at the heart of the Hindenburg Omen.