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.

S&P; 500 (blue-chip stocks): 1,192.33

200-day moving average: Friday: 1,089.46

Russell 2,000 index (smaller stocks): 425.98

200-day moveing average: Friday: 402.09

Price-to-earnings ratio of Standard & Poor’s 500: 25.92*

Based on operating earnings per share, 12 months ended June 30; average since 1923: 13.5

Dividend yield of the Standard & Poor’s 500: 1.37%

Average dividend yield of blue-chip stocks; avg. since 1923: 4.5%

Weekly new highs vs. new lows on the NYSE: 205/75

Data for the week ended Friday. More highs indicate a bullish trend.

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Nov. 20 Friday Bullish: 57.0% 57.9% Bearish: 31.6 29.8 Correction: 11.4 12.3

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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.

Put-call ratio:0.37

The ratio of stock put options to call options traded last week on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Ironically, a low put-call ratio--under 0.40--can be construed as bearish because it indicates a high level of optimism, leaving a lot of room for disappointment.

* Now calculated based on operating earnings, which exclude one-time charges--so P/E is lower than if actual earnings were used.

Source: A.G. Edwards & Sons.

More information can be found at https://www.agedwards.com .