Market Breadth Pulls Back After Record Highs

(All data & visualisations by ChartMill.com)

Daily Market Trend Analysis – September 19, 2025 (After Market Close)

End of a strong week...

Short Term Trend

SPY (S&P 500 ETF)

• Short-Term Trend: Positive (no change)
• Next Support at $650 - $640
• Next Resistance at ?
• Volume: Above Average (50)
• Pattern: Up Day - New All Time High

QQQ (Nasdaq-100 ETF)

• Short-Term Trend: Positive (no change)
• Next Support at $580
• Next Resistance at ?
• Volume: Above Average (50)
• Pattern: Up Day - New Intraday All Time High

IWM (Russell 2000 ETF)

• Short-Term Trend: Positive (no change)
• Next Support at $235
• Next Resistance at $245
• Volume: Well Below Average (50)
• Pattern: Down Day - New Intraday All Time High

Long Term Trend

SPY (S&P 500 ETF)

• Long-Term Trend: Positive (no change)

QQQ (Nasdaq-100 ETF)

• Long-Term Trend: Positive (no change)

IWM (Russell 2000 ETF)

• Long-Term Trend: Positive (from neutral)

Daily Market Breadth Analysis – September 19, 2025 (After Market Close)

On September 19, decliners outpaced advancers as traders locked in profits after Thursday’s surge. While short-term momentum softened, longer-term breadth measures remain strong, keeping the overall trend neutral with a positive bias.

Friday’s breadth numbers show that momentum cooled notably after Thursday’s impressive all-time highs across the major U.S. indices.

Advancers slipped to just 37.4% versus 59.4% decliners, a clear reversal from the strong participation the day before (67.8% advancers on Sep 18). This signals short-term profit-taking after a sharp run-up.

High-momentum moves also thinned out: only 4.9% of stocks gained 4% or more, while 4.7% declined by 4% or more, essentially a wash. This contrasts with Thursday’s strong upside follow-through.

The medium- and longer-term structure remains resilient. Roughly 63–72% of stocks are still trading above their 20-, 50-, 100-, and 200-day SMAs, barely changed from earlier in the week. That stability indicates the broader uptrend is still intact, despite today’s weaker session.

New highs versus lows also softened: 9.2% of stocks recorded new highs, down from nearly 10% the day before, while 1.5% hit new lows. It’s a small contraction, but not a deterioration that undermines the broader trend.

Looking at higher timeframes, the monthly and three-month breadth indicators remain strong: about 74% of stocks are up over the past month, and nearly 74% are higher across three months.

These figures confirm that, despite Friday’s pullback, the market remains broadly positioned in an uptrend.

Comparison with Thursday (Sep 18):

• Thursday was marked by broad-based strength (advancers nearly 68%, strong new highs, indices at records).

• Friday reversed this in the short-term, with decliners in control and weaker short-term momentum.

• Importantly, longer-term breadth stayed largely unaffected, pointing more to digestion than to breakdown.

Breadth Trend Rating: Neutral with a positive bias

The shift in day-to-day momentum pulls the rating back from outright “positive.”

Still, with the majority of stocks above key moving averages and medium/long-term breadth metrics steady, the underlying trend is constructive.

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Kristoff - ChartMill

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