LIVE MARKETS-Bulls await breadth thrust as a Nasdaq internal strength gauge continues to slide

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BULLS AWAIT BREADTH THRUST AS A NASDAQ INTERNAL STRENGTH GAUGE CONTINUES TO SLIDE

The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC ended Tuesday at 21,761.89, putting it down 9.2% from its 23,958.473, October 29, 2025, record close, and down 9.4% from its 24,019.993, October 29, 2025, record intraday high.

Meanwhile, one measure of the Nasdaq's internal strength, the Nasdaq New High/New Low (NH/NL) Index, continues to plunge. A sharp thrust higher in this measure may signal that bulls are back in control.

The NH/NL index put in a peak at 83.4% on September 23 of last year. It then diverged into the Composite's late-October record highs.

This breadth measure ended Tuesday at 21.4%, or its lowest level since a 19.6% reading on April 22, 2025.

Bulls want to see the NH/NL index put in a V-bottom and reclaim its descending 10-day moving average (DMA), which ended Tuesday at about 28%, and is falling around 2 percentage points per trading day.

In the event of a "breadth thrust," or a rapid, powerful shift in market momentum from deeply oversold conditions to severely overbought levels over a short period, it can signal broad strength, and a fresh bull run.

If the NH/NL index continues to descend, or simply crawls along at relatively low levels, the Nasdaq Composite may be subject to greater weakness.

The April 2025 NH/NL index trough was sub-10%.

(Terence Gabriel)

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