Breadth Flush

Markets are now entering "puke" territory, at least in terms of market breadth.

There have been over 1,228 securities on the NYSE that traded to a 52-week low, and it is rising rapidly. It reached 1,342 on August 24 and is getting close to 40% of all issues, a rarely-achieved level.

Even more notable, the Up Volume Ratio on the NYSE is only 3%, meaning that 97% of all volume traded today is in declining stocks. The 10-day average of that figure stands at 26%, if we close as badly as we are now.

Since 1940, there have been only four days that saw an Up Volume Ratio at 5% or below with a 10-day average at 27% or below:

• August 29, 1966
• May 25, 1970
• October 19, 1987
• August 8, 2011

The average return over the next six months was +17.7%, with all of them being at least +14%.