Stock Market Barometers

Fundamental and technical indicators of the market’s health

Key indexes vs. their 200-day moving averages:

A stock index’s 200-day moving average indicates the basic trend, up or down. It is generally bullish if the index stays above the average.

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S&P; 500 (blue-chip stocks)

Friday: 1,122.72

200-day moving average

976.86

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Russel 2,000 index (smaller stocks)

Friday: 487.01

200-day moving average

438.06

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Price-to-earnings ratio of the Standard & Poor’s 500: 28.27

Based on actual earnings per share, 12 months ended Dec. 31

Average since 1923: 13.5

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Dividend yield of the Standard & Poor’s 500: 1.42%

Average dividend yield of blue-chip stocks

Average since 1923: 4.5%

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Weekly new highs vs. new lows on the NYSE: 506/75

Data for the week ended Friday. More highs than lows is preferable, indicating a bullish trend.

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Investment newsletter sentiment:

Stocks’ near-term trend as predicted by 135 independent investment newsletters, weekly survey by Investors Intelligence. The data are often viewed as a contrarian indicator: A rising percentage of bulls can signal a topping market.

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April 10 Friday Bullish: 52.4% 52.8% Bearish: 24.2 23.6 Correction: 23.4 23.6

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Source: A.G. Edwards & Sons. More information can be found at

https://www.agedwards.com on the World Wide Web.