US Weekly Market Update: Breadth Remains Cautious

The US market currently holds an Altra Market score of 34.9, placing it firmly in a Cautious regime this week. This Altra Market score, an aggregate measure of market breadth, indicates overall momentum, much like the individual Altra Score for a stock (which assesses a stock's momentum from 0-100 based on EMA alignment and RSI trend across multiple timeframes). This week's reading is down 3.1 points from last week and reflects a 15-day trend of -7.9, signaling a persistent weakening in underlying momentum. The current market texture is characterized by weak breadth, suggesting it's prudent to avoid new momentum entries for now.

Market Breadth Remains Weak

Digging deeper into the market's structure, the breadth figures underline the cautious sentiment. Only 24.85% of stocks are currently trading above their 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which serves as a short-term trend indicator. Similarly, only 26.24% are above their 50-day EMA, a mid-term trend measure. The longer-term perspective, represented by the 200-day EMA, shows 41.35% of stocks above this key level, which is a common gauge of long-term health. This combination of low participation across shorter timeframes points to a broad lack of strong upward momentum. This week saw 288 advances against 215 declines, which, while positive, is not robust enough to offset the broader weakening trend in momentum scores.

Sector Momentum Landscape

At the sector level, the market's Cautious posture is evident, with only 2 sectors exhibiting bullish Altra Sector scores (which rank sector momentum relative to others) and 1 neutral, while a majority of 8 sectors are currently bearish. Technology remains the top-ranked sector (#1) for the week, holding steady with no change in its relative strength. It maintains its status as a Confirmed leader, indicating sustained positive momentum. Energy moved up one spot to #2, also classified as a Confirmed leader and showing accelerating momentum.

Health Care slipped one rank to #3 and is not yet confirmed as a leader, with its relative strength starting to wane. Materials saw a notable two-spot jump to #4, indicating it's still lagging overall but showing early signs of turning up. Financials, on the other hand, fell two ranks to #7, experiencing further weakening in its momentum. Communication Services also declined one spot to #5, continuing its momentum weakening trend. Real Estate moved up one spot to #6, joining Materials in the

What is the Altra Market score? The Altra Market score measures overall market breadth — the proportion of stocks in an index trading above key moving averages. A score above 60 signals broad market participation and a healthy momentum environment. Below 40 signals broad weakness. It is updated daily after market close.

Track these scores daily on AltraOne — momentum analytics for NSE, S&P 500, and TSX, updated every trading day after market close.

Altra Score is a momentum indicator reflecting EMA alignment and RSI trend across daily, weekly, and monthly timeframes. It is not investment advice. Past momentum does not guarantee future performance. Please consult a SEBI-registered advisor before making investment decisions.