Bloomberg
S&P 500 Posts Best Streak Without 1% Slump: Technical Analysis
March 26, 2010, 12:58 AM EDT
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By Lynn Thomasson
March 26 (Bloomberg) -- The Standard & Poorâs 500 Index hasnât had a daily drop of at least 1 percent in a month, the longest stretch during the yearlong bull market and a sign U.S. stocks are gaining momentum.
The benchmark index for U.S. shares has risen 6.5 percent since its last 1 percent decline. The streak since Feb. 23 has exceeded the span in July and August that had been the longest, according to data compiled by Harrison, New York-based research firm Bespoke Investment Group LLC.
âYouâre seeing strength in the stock market, and that signals the recovery is alive and well,â said Stefanie Yeager, a fund manager at State College, Pennsylvania-based Vantage Investment Advisors LLC, which oversees $450 million. âWeâre going to have blips, but the recovery is under way.â
Equities advanced after President Barack Obamaâs health- care overhaul lifted shares of drugmakers and hospitals and reports showed rising demand for steel and semiconductors. Investors from Laszlo Birinyi to Barton Biggs, who said in March 2009 that stocks would rise before the S&P 500 surged 72 percent, say gains will continue.
While the streak is evidence of the rallyâs long-term sustainability, equities may retreat for a few days before moving higher, Bespoke said in a report yesterday. The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent in the past two days, the most in a month.