[dshort.com]

May 10, 2011

The S&P 500 closed the day up 0.81% on a bit better volume than yesterday, but still about 20% below the 50-day volume moving average (Monday's volume was 36% below the 50-MA). The index is 100.6% above the March 9 2009 closing low but 13.3% below the nominal all-time high of October 2007. Here are two charts of the index — with and without the 50 and 200-day moving averages.


Click for a larger image


Click for a larger image

For a better sense of how these declines figure into a larger historical context, here's a long-term view of secular bull and bear markets in the S&P Composite since 1871.

For a bit of international flavor, here's a chart series that includes an overlay of the S&P 500, the Dow Crash of 1929 and Great Depression, and the so-called L-shaped "recovery" of the Nikkei 225. I update these weekly.

These charts are not intended as a forecast but rather as a way to study the current market in relation to historic market cycles.

View the original article on dhsort.com

[qqqbear]

Now, if you follow the markets closely, you know that Citi has been a favorite of the high velocity trading firms, who using computer algorithms to scalp pennies from stock price movement. Being a low priced stock that did huge daily volume, Citi was perfect for the machines. And you could see it in the volume. There were days when Citi accounted for as much as half the shares traded on the NYSE.

But now, at $44, the machines will need to move on. That's going to mean less volume on the NYSE.

http://www.wyattrese...its-c-cme/23225