Friday's action brought both the bullish percent (^BPNYSE) and positive trend (^PTNYSE) indicators back to bull confirmed status.
Friday’s positive action capped off a positive week for U.S. Equity indices with the S&P 500 Index (SPX) gaining 1.57% for the week after being up 65 basis points during Friday’s trading. The positive action kicking off 2026 has brought both the bullish percent (^BPNYSE) and positive trend (^PTNYSE) indicators back to bull confirmed status. For those not familiar, the bullish percent indicator measures the percentage of stocks (roughly 1800 in terms of the NYSE stock universe) that maintain buy signals on their default point and figure trend charts, while the positive trend indicator measures the percentage of stocks that maintain a long-term positive trend (trading above the bullish support line) on their default point and figure chart.
The bullish percent for the NYSE moved above 60% following Friday’s trading, returning the indicator to bull confirmed status and matching the July 2025 high mark for the indicator. This action comes after the indicator had been in Xs since November 28th, steadily increasing over since. From here, a move above 62% would mark the highest chart level since December 2024 and bring the indicator into territory for forward return profiles improve. While mostly positive across the observable timeframes when the ^BPNYSE resides within 40% to 60% on the chart, intermediate to long-term forward returns improve notably when the ^BPNYSE indicator moves into the 60% to 80% range while in a column of Xs. While investors wait for the bullish percent’s next move, it is worth noting that forward returns when the ^BP reverses into Os from this level are also positive.
In addition to the intermediate-term technical improvement for stocks shown on the bullish percent, long-term improvement has been shown on the positive trend for the NYSE (^PTNYSE). Following a reversal into Xs during last Thursday’s (1/8) trading, the ^PTNYSE moved above 58% and returned to bull confirmed status and marked its highest level since December 2024. Similar to the BP above, action is positive across the observable timeframes when the ^PTNYSE resides within 40% to 60% on the chart, intermediate to long-term forward returns improve notably when the ^PTNYSE indicator moves into the 60% to 80% range while in a column of Xs. Also in a similar fashion, when the ^PT reverses into Os from the current chart level are positive.
Given the recent action on the BPs and PTs, the weight of positive evidence builds for U.S. Equities.
