High Yield Spread: How to Read Credit Spreads as a Stock Signal
The high yield spread is the extra yield junk bonds pay over Treasuries. How to read its level, its rate of change, and why equity traders watch it.
7 min read ▮ Strategy family
Market Breadth
Market Crash Indicators: Which Warning Signs Actually Lead
Market crash indicators ranked by what they measure and when they fire — breadth, credit, volatility, leverage and the yield curve — plus a dashboard you can score.
8 min readHerfindahl Index in the Stock Market: Effective Number of Stocks
The Herfindahl index turns index weights into one concentration number. Learn the formula, the effective number of stocks, and how to read a dot-com-peak comparison.
8 min readBullish Percent Index: Formula, Signals and How to Read It
The bullish percent index counts the share of stocks on point-and-figure buy signals. Learn the formula, the six BPI signals, and how to read a record high with it.
9 min readUp/Down Volume Line: How to Read Volume Breadth and 90% Down Days
How to build the up/down volume line, calculate a Lowry-style 90% down day, and use volume breadth to tell a liquidation from an orderly selloff.
10 min readBreadth Divergence: How to Spot a Rally Losing Participation
What a breadth divergence is, how to confirm one across the A/D line, percent above 200-day and net new highs, and how long the warning typically leads.
7 min readHindenburg Omen: What the Crash Signal Actually Measures
The Hindenburg Omen flags a split tape — new highs and new lows expanding together. Learn the real criteria, the base rates, and how desks actually read it.
8 min readTick Index: How to Read the NYSE TICK for Intraday Breadth
The tick index ($TICK) counts NYSE stocks on upticks minus downticks in real time. Learn the key levels — ±800, ±1000 — and how desks trade the extremes.
8 min readPercent of Stocks Above the 200-Day Moving Average, Explained
How to read the percent of stocks above the 200-day moving average: key thresholds, divergences, and a worked example from a narrowing rally.
7 min readAdvance-Decline Ratio: How to Read One Day's Breadth Intensity
The advance-decline ratio divides advancers by decliners to grade a single session's participation. Learn the formula, key thresholds, and how to use it.
8 min readEquity Put Call Ratio: How to Read the Options Crowd
What the equity put call ratio measures, the thresholds that mark sentiment extremes, and how to use the signal without getting run over by the crowd.
7 min readArms Index (TRIN): How to Read the Market's Volume-Breadth Gauge
The Arms Index (TRIN) compares breadth to volume to show where the money is actually flowing. Learn the formula, key thresholds, and how desks read it.
8 min readEqual Weight vs Cap Weight: Which Index Structure Wins?
Equal weight vs cap weight changes what an index fund actually bets on. Learn how each is built, when equal weight outperforms, and how to read the spread.
8 min readMargin Debt: How to Read Wall Street Leverage as an Indicator
Margin debt tracks how much investors borrow to buy stocks. Learn to read its year-over-year rate of change to gauge late-cycle leverage risk.
8 min readMcClellan Oscillator: Reading Breadth Momentum Like a Desk Trader
The McClellan Oscillator turns daily advance-decline data into a breadth momentum gauge. Learn the formula, the key thresholds, and how to read its signals.
8 min readBreadth Thrust Indicator: The Zweig Formula and Signal Threshold
A breadth thrust indicator flags the violent shift from washout to broad buying. Learn the Zweig Breadth Thrust formula, thresholds, and how to read a thrust off a low.
8 min readNew Highs–New Lows Indicator: Formula, Signals, High-Low Index
The new highs–new lows indicator counts stocks hitting 52-week extremes. Learn to read net new highs and the High-Low Index to spot a narrowing rally early.
8 min readStock Market Concentration: When a Few Stocks Run It All
Stock market concentration measures how much of an index a handful of mega-caps drive. Learn how to gauge it, why it raises risk, and how to trade around it.
8 min readAdvance-Decline Line: How to Read Market Breadth
The advance-decline line tracks how many stocks rise versus fall each day. Learn to read this breadth indicator and spot divergences before a rally cracks.
7 min readMarket Breadth Indicators: The 5 Core Measures and How to Read Them
Market breadth indicators show whether a rally is broad or carried by a handful of stocks. Learn the core measures, divergences, and a daily routine.
8 min read