MA Breadth: % of Stocks Above the 10, 50, 100 & 200-Day Moving Averages
Free market breadth gauge: the share of stocks trading above their own 10-, 50-, 100-, and 200-day moving averages, across 4,804 eligible US common stocks on 2026-10-16, charted against SPY since 2010. The same readings for S&P 500 members, Nasdaq-100 members and all Nasdaq-listed stocks show whether the largest companies are carrying the market. The four timeframes separate short-term washouts from regime changes; the extremes (above 80%, below 20%) are where the signal lives.
25.1% of eligible US stocks are above their 50-day moving average — most of the market is below short-term trend.
Today's reading
As of market close on October 16, 2026, 40.3% of eligible US common stocks are above their 10-day moving average, 25.1% above their 50-day, 30.0% above their 100-day, and 36.5% above their 200-day. Participation is weak — most stocks are below short-term trend, and 50-day breadth is contracting versus the prior session. The 50d ÷ 200d breadth ratio (share above the 50-day divided by share above the 200-day) is 0.69, fast breadth lagging. Computed across roughly 4,750 eligible US equities in a typical session; the series runs from 2010 to present.
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 2026-10-16 · Open ↓Close ↑
Participation by universe
Four Universes: Latest Reading
The share of each group above its moving averages at the 2026-10-16 close. When the index-member columns sit well above the all-stocks columns, the large companies are carrying the market while most stocks lag.
| % above their | All US Stocks | S&P 500 Members | Nasdaq-100 Members | All Nasdaq-Listed Stocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-Day average · Timing | 40.3% | 69.8% | 47.0% | 30.0% |
| 50-Day average · Swing | 25.1% | 44.9% | 37.0% | 21.8% |
| 100-Day average · Trend | 30.0% | 48.6% | 46.5% | 28.7% |
| 200-Day average · Regime | 36.5% | 51.6% | 55.6% | 36.8% |
S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 columns use today's members; the survivorship caveat under their charts applies to their history, not to this latest reading.
% Above the 50-Day Average: Last 10 Sessions
Oct 5 to Oct 16, 2026. Each cell is the share of that universe above its 50-day moving average at the close; green above 50%, red below. SPY −0.8%, QQQ −5.3% over the same sessions.
| Universe | Oct 5 | Oct 6 | Oct 7 | Oct 8 | Oct 9 | Oct 12 | Oct 13 | Oct 14 | Oct 15 | Oct 16 | Oldest → latest | Change, 10d | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All US Stocks | 27% | 27% | 25% | 25% | 26% | 26% | 26% | 23% | 27% | 25% | −0.6 pts | 25% | |
| S&P 500 Members | 27% | 30% | 29% | 32% | 35% | 37% | 38% | 35% | 44% | 45% | +20.2 pts | 45% | |
| Nasdaq-100 Members | 49% | 49% | 52% | 48% | 49% | 51% | 45% | 40% | 50% | 37% | −7.0 pts | 37% | |
| All Nasdaq-Listed Stocks | 30% | 30% | 28% | 27% | 28% | 27% | 25% | 22% | 25% | 22% | −7.7 pts | 22% |
Over these 10 sessions, all US stocks: from 25.7% to 25.1% (−0.6 pts); S&P 500 members: from 24.7% to 44.9% (+20.2 pts); Nasdaq-100 members: from 44.0% to 37.0% (−7.0 pts); all Nasdaq-listed stocks: from 29.6% to 21.8% (−7.7 pts).
Change is in percentage points from the close before the window. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 rows count today's members.
All US Stocks: % Above the 10, 50, 100 & 200-Day Averages vs SPY
Every eligible US common stock, 4,804 behind the 50-day reading on 2026-10-16, from 2010-10-15. Each horizon is overlaid on SPY in its own pane, breadth on the left axis and price on the right, and one crosshair moves all four, so a divergence reads as a shape. This is the series the hero, the ratios and every study on this page use.
Latest · Oct 16, 2026 · SPY $763.25
Broad participation. Often extended, but also how durable advances begin.
More than half the universe is above trend; most useful on the slower lines.
A washout. Context decides whether it is capitulation or structural damage.
S&P 500 Members: % Above the 50 & 200-Day Averages vs SPY
Today's S&P 500 members (494 of 503 have a price file), 494 with enough history for the 50-day on 2026-10-16. The record starts 2010-10-18.
Latest · Oct 16, 2026 · SPY $763.25
Nasdaq-100 Members: % Above the 50 & 200-Day Averages vs QQQ
Today's Nasdaq-100 members (100 of 101 share classes have a price file), 100 with enough history for the 50-day on 2026-10-16. These are the largest companies on Nasdaq, so this card shows how many of the stocks that drive QQQ are in an uptrend. The record starts 2010-10-15, the first session with at least 80 members holding 200 days of prices.
Latest · Oct 16, 2026 · QQQ $709.80
Survivorship caveat. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 readings are computed for the companies in each index today, all the way back. We hold no historical membership, so stocks that were dropped from an index (usually after falling) are missing and stocks added later (usually after rising) are counted before they joined. That lifts older readings, so a low reading in the past was more common than it looks here. Recent years are close to exact. Read these charts for recent turns and for the gap to the all-stocks line, not for historical extremes.
All Nasdaq-Listed Stocks: % Above the 50 & 200-Day Averages vs QQQ
The All US Stocks universe limited to companies listed on Nasdaq that session, 2,523 behind the 50-day reading on 2026-10-16. Most are small companies, so this card shows the breadth beneath the Nasdaq-100. Listing venues come from dated exchange records, which start 2016-11-01; earlier listing records are too incomplete to place a stock on one exchange.
Latest · Oct 16, 2026 · QQQ $709.80
All US Stocks: the four horizons
% of Stocks Above the 10-Day Moving Average
Is this week stretched?
% of Stocks Above the 50-Day Moving Average
How healthy is this move?
% of Stocks Above the 100-Day Moving Average
Is the intermediate trend intact?
% of Stocks Above the 200-Day Moving Average
Does the long-term tape support risk?
All US Stocks: breadth ratios
All US Stocks: Fast Breadth over Slow Breadth
One horizon divided by a slower one, both measured across every eligible US common stock (the first universe above). Parity means the fast and slow lines agree; a reading far below it is a flush that the slower line has not yet confirmed, and a reading far above it is the thrust out of one. Markers show every first close through 0.50 and 1.50; the table beneath reports what SPY did next against the baseline.
Latest · Oct 16, 2026 · 50d ÷ 200d 0.69 · 25.1% ÷ 36.5% · SPY $763.25
What SPY did next · 50d ÷ 200d
full record to 2026-10-16 · baseline = every sessionAn episode is the first close through the level after at least twenty sessions on the other side. Median SPY change and the share of episodes that ended higher, beside the same statistics over every session in the record. Overlapping episodes and a bull-market sample flatter both columns equally; the edge, if any, is the gap between them.
| After | SPY median | Baseline | Higher | Baseline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20d | +2.5% | +1.5% | 85% | 67% |
| 60d | +3.6% | +3.7% | 77% | 76% |
| 120d | +8.6% | +6.6% | 85% | 79% |
| 250d | +15.3% | +13.9% | 85% | 86% |
| After | SPY median | Baseline | Higher | Baseline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20d | +5.4% | +1.5% | 80% | 67% |
| 60d | +8.3% | +3.7% | 80% | 76% |
| 120d | +14.1% | +6.6% | 80% | 79% |
| 250d | +22.6% | +13.9% | 90% | 86% |
Fast breadth has collapsed to half the slow line. A flush, and the slower line says whether the regime is still standing.
The fast and slow lines agree. Most of the record lives near here; the ratio only speaks at its edges.
Fast breadth has re-expanded far ahead of the slow line. Exits from washouts look like this. Tops do not.
49 US Industries: breadth since 1927
Stock-level breadth before 2010 needs the index's historical members, including the companies that later disappeared. This section uses a survivorship-free proxy instead: the share of Ken French's 49 CRSP industry portfolios above their 50-, 100- and 200-day averages. Since 2012 it moves with the S&P 500 member readings above almost exactly (correlation 0.96 on the 50-day). It runs Jul 1927 to Aug 2026; French publishes monthly, one to two months behind.
Weak breadth near a 52-week high
The setup: fewer than 27% of industries above their 50-day average, fewer than 50% above the 100- and 200-day, with the market within 3% of its 52-week high. It has appeared 3 times since 1927. The S&P 500 member series does not match it at the 2026-10-16 close.
| First day | 50d / 100d / 200d | From high | Next 3 months | Next 6 months | Next 12 months | Next 24 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1972 | 18 / 27 / 35% | −2.7% | +7.9% | −1.9% | −2.1% | −42.1% |
| Mar 2000 | 27 / 31 / 33% | −2.2% | −0.9% | +2.1% | −15.6% | −20.8% |
| May 2023 | 25 / 29 / 41% | −2.4% | +8.7% | +9.5% | +27.8% | +47.2% |
| All days since 1927, median | +3.4% | +6.5% | +13.4% | +24.5% | ||
CRSP value-weighted market, total return. A new episode starts after six months without a match. Three episodes make a pattern and a small sample: on 80 nearby threshold sets the list changes, and 7 of the 10 years that appear in at least a quarter of them (1972, 1952, 2000, 2023, 1992, 2005, 1994, 2015, 1984, 1962) were followed by a higher market a year later. On the 50 largest size and value portfolios, the same setup finds 1972 and 2023.
Breadth at every bear-market top since 1929
Of the 19 S&P 500 bear-market peaks that came within 3% of a 52-week high, 17 had broad participation in their final three months. Jan 1973 and Mar 2000 were the exceptions.
| Peak | Decline | Lowest 50d near the high | Lowest 200d near the high | Breadth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1929 | −44.6% | 50% | 55% | Broad |
| Jul 1933 | −29.4% | 98% | 91% | Broad |
| Feb 1934 | −31.8% | 98% | 95% | Broad |
| Mar 1937 | −54.5% | 44% | 81% | Broad |
| Oct 1938 | −25.1% | 74% | 98% | Broad |
| Oct 1939 | −31.9% | 49% | 57% | Broad |
| May 1946 | −28.5% | 63% | 91% | Broad |
| Jun 1948 | −20.6% | 88% | 61% | Broad |
| Aug 1956 | −21.5% | 40% | 81% | Broad |
| Dec 1961 | −28.0% | 35% | 58% | Broad |
| Feb 1966 | −22.2% | 71% | 83% | Broad |
| Nov 1968 | −36.1% | 46% | 88% | Broad |
| Jan 1973 | −48.2% | 12% | 29% | Narrow |
| Nov 1980 | −27.1% | 59% | 98% | Broad |
| Aug 1987 | −33.5% | 67% | 92% | Broad |
| Mar 2000 | −36.8% | 27% | 31% | Narrow |
| Oct 2007 | −51.9% | 45% | 69% | Broad |
| Feb 2020 | −33.9% | 51% | 76% | Broad |
| Jan 2022 | −25.4% | 35% | 69% | Broad |
Peaks: S&P 500 daily closes, a new bear market after a 20% decline, a new bull after a 20% rise; rallies that never came within 3% of a 52-week high are left out. “Near the high” is the last three months before the peak, on days within 3% of the high. Download the series: long_breadth.json.
The Manual — market breadth
25% of stocks are above their 50-day average and 37% above their 200-day. The full owner's guide covers the three-layer reading framework (participation → momentum → divergence), the six breadth gauges compared with each one's classic false positive, the thrust record with forward returns, and where breadth will mislead you — with deep links into the A/D line, McClellan and Hindenburg Omen gauge Manuals.
Read The Market Breadth Manual →The Manual — the McClellan Oscillator
Our ratio-adjusted McClellan Oscillator reads −12 (36th percentile in the covered history). Deeply oversold readings below −60 preceded modestly above-baseline returns (1.7% next month vs 1.2%). The full owner's guide covers the 19/39-EMA construction, the complete covered outcome study, and the Summation Index.
Read The McClellan Oscillator Manual →Reading the current tape
As of 2026-10-16, 40.3% of eligible US common stocks are above their 10-day MA (neutral), 25.1% above their 50-day (weak), 30.0% above their 100-day (weak), and 36.5% above their 200-day (weak). Participation is damaged across the tape. A weak regime, not merely a short-term dip. The 50d ÷ 200d breadth ratio is 0.69 (fast breadth lagging).
25.1% of eligible US stocks are above their 50-day moving average — most of the market is below short-term trend.
How Stocks Above Moving Averages (% Above the 50 & 200-Day) Works
- 1Compute four moving averages for every stock, every dayFor each eligible US common stock — several thousand in a current session — we compute the 10-, 50-, 100-, and 200-day simple moving averages over the full daily history (2010 to present).
- 2Count the share of stocks above each MAFor each trading day, breadth = the number of stocks closing above a given moving average divided by the number of stocks that have enough history for that MA. A stock listed three months ago is excluded from the 100- and 200-day denominators until it has enough bars — so young listings never distort the reading.
- 3Read the four lines as fast / medium / slow participationThe 10-day line is the twitchy short-term gauge (washes out and recovers in days), the 50-day line is the swing-trading workhorse, the 100-day tracks the intermediate trend, and the 200-day line moves slowly enough to define the long-term regime. Divergences between them — short-term breadth recovering while long-term breadth keeps falling — are where the information is.
- 4Watch the extremesReadings above ~80% mark broad overbought conditions that historically precede consolidation; readings below ~20% mark washouts that historically precede durable lows. Between 40% and 60% the indicator says little — that's the zone where trend tools work better.