The S&P 500 index is closing in on a death cross, an ominous chart pattern that underscores the downtrend suffered in an asset.
A death cross appears when the 50-day moving average crosses below the 200-day moving average, an event that many chart watchers view as marking the spot a shorter-term correction morphs into a longer-term downtrend.
At last check, the S&P 500 index
SPX,
-0.72%
was trading down 0.6%, with its 50-day moving average at 4,508.56 and its 200-day at 4,466.34, a differential of 42.22 points, which it could possibly breach by next week at the current pace of decline.
FactSet, MarketWatch
The approach of a death cross for the broad-market benchmark comes as the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.56%
saw a death cross materialize (the 50-day at 34,990.79 fell below the 200-day MA at 35,008.55) in Tuesday trade, with Monday’s nearly 800-point tumble likely hastening that bearish cross.
FactSet, MarketWatch
A number of other assets have seen death crosses materialize, including the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
-0.28%
in mid February.
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