Market Breadth Weekly — September 15, 2026
September 15, 2026 · neutral regime · 56% above 200-day MA · 12 golden / 7 death crosses
Market Breadth Weekly · September 15, 2026
Large caps are doing the heavy lifting.
A concise weekly note on what is moving beneath the index.
Breadth 56.0% S&P 500 above 200-day | Crosses 7 / 12 death vs. golden | Leadership Communication Services +2.7% this week |
The Read
The share of S&P 500 stocks trading above their 200-day moving average, a simple gauge of how many companies are in longer-term uptrends, fell to 56 percent from 60 a week ago. A month ago it was 68. The index itself is only 2.2 percent below its high of the past 60 trading days, so prices have barely flinched while the number of stocks holding their trend has dropped by 12 points since mid-August.
Underneath: Across the full 4,742-stock universe only 45.3 percent are above that line, eleven points below the S&P reading, which tells you the large caps are carrying a market the smaller names stopped supporting. Leadership backs that up: Communication Services gained 2.7 percent and Energy added 0.7 while Materials, Industrials and Utilities each lost nearly three percent or more, and longer-term trend signals stayed split with 12 stocks completing a golden cross (50-day average rising above the 200-day) against 7 death crosses the other way.
What to watch: See whether the gap between S&P breadth and the full-market reading narrows, or whether the index drifts further from its high while participation keeps thinning.
Breadth is at the 44th percentile of its own 5-year history — a neutral regime. The SPY is 2.2% off its 60-day high while breadth has moved from 73% to 55% over that same window — a classic narrowing-breadth warning sign.
Cross of the Week: ALGN (Healthcare) crossed below its 200-day moving average on 2026-09-09, with volume confirmation, on 955,956 average daily volume.
This week: 12 golden crosses vs. 7 death crosses as of 2026-09-15.
Top Golden Crosses (by volume)
- PLTR (Technology) — crossed 2026-09-09
- PFE (Healthcare) — crossed 2026-09-11
- NOW (Technology) — crossed 2026-09-09
- CMG (Consumer Cyclical) — crossed 2026-09-04
- NEM (Materials) — crossed 2026-09-11
Top Death Crosses (by volume)
- CNP (Utilities) — crossed 2026-09-14
- XEL (Utilities) — crossed 2026-09-09
- DUK (Utilities) — crossed 2026-09-11
- TPR (Consumer Cyclical) — crossed 2026-09-11
- GNRC (Industrials) — crossed 2026-09-11
Sector Leaders (this week)
- Communication Services (XLC): +2.7% this week (+0.9% vs 200-day MA)
- Energy (XLE): +0.7% this week (+16.6% vs 200-day MA)
- Consumer Staples (XLP): -0.2% this week (+1.1% vs 200-day MA)
Sector Laggards (this week)
- Materials (XLB): -3.7% this week (+0.4% vs 200-day MA)
- Industrials (XLI): -3.0% this week (-0.8% vs 200-day MA)
- Utilities (XLU): -2.9% this week (-6.3% vs 200-day MA)
Full-market breadth (all 4,742 stocks tracked) is 45.3% above their 200-day MA vs. 56.0% for the S&P 500 alone — a 11-point gap. Large caps are currently stronger than the broader market.
Read this edition online: tradingtwohundred.com/digest/2026-09-15
Dig deeper: This week's movers · Cross-asset correlations · Golden Cross scanner
Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only and is not investment advice. Do your own research before making investment decisions. Trading involves risk, including possible loss of principal.
