What is it about golden and death cross indicators for S&P500?

Recent Death (and Golden Cross) for S&P500 (1 Day chart)

S&P500 1D chart as per 20Mar2022

Death crosshappens when 50 days moving average cuts the 200 days moving average from above, a typically bearish signal. Whereas, agolden crosshappens when 50 days moving average cuts the 200 days moving average from below, a typically bullish signal.

Here are some dates when death and golden crosses happened on S&P500 recently:

  1. Death Cross on 6 Dec 2018
  2. Golden Cross on 29 Mar 2019
  3. Death Cross on 27 Mar 2020 (market started to fall from 24 Feb 2020 due to the Covid outbreak)
  4. Golden Cross on 9 July 2020
  5. Death Cross on 15 Mar 2022

While it is vain to time the market, the duration between recent death and golden crosses were 3 to 4 months (based on the recent occurrences).

I have an observation about both the golden and death cross for S&P500 which are usually lagging indicators. The rise or decline could happen before or after the cross of the 50 & 200 moving averages. Take the death cross on 27 Mar 2020 as an example. The market has started falling since 24 Feb 2020 due to the Covid19 pandemic. In fact, the death cross on 27 Mar 2020 is near the bottom of the "market". Thus, if we entered our "sell" position after the recent death cross, we would have suffered great losses as the market made a strong recovery.

For the coming weeks

What I am more concerned about is whether it is an actual trend reversal as there are potential black swan events like the China Covid outbreak, Ukraine conflict and energy crisis. Being conservative, I would rather wait. Though I may miss out on profits, I may also avoid a falling knife.

@TigerStars 

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Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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  • jat
    ·2022-03-22
    thank you for this insights. i think buying stocks with good fundamentals and hving the ability to hold thru the crosses is really impt. Chasing time to buy and sell is emotional
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    • KYHBKO

      good sharing.  

      2022-03-22
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    • KYHBKO
      well said. fundamental + technical analysis can bring good results
      2022-03-22
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  • LalaLand
    ·2022-03-23
    Looking back at history, SPY always comes back.
    If you think long term, now might be the right time to buy

    2 possibilities
    1. Buy and hold. Eventually SPY goes up
    2. Putin does something stupid...

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    • KYHBKO

      good observation.  personally, I prefer to stock pick

      2022-03-25
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    • KYHBKO

      good suggestion. $SPY always go up, if we can hold on to it long enough.

      2022-03-23
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  • Kerrisdale
    ·2022-03-22
    Market is so volatile, sometimes beyond reasoning..
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    • KYHBKO

      thus, not trading at times is good too.

      2022-03-25
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  • wkeat
    ·2022-03-22
    how you define bear market?
    your death and golden seems suitable to show correction while overall market is bullish
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    • KYHBKO

      correction when market drops more then 10%.  bear is when market drops more than 20%.

      it is bullish but we need to be cautious

      2022-03-22
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  • 88wlam88
    ·2022-03-22
    Silence is golden, welcome the golden cross with open arm….
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    • KYHBKO

      golden cross is coming :)

      2022-03-22
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  • Shot
    ·2022-03-22
    so golden cross in June?
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    • ShotReplying toKYHBKO
      [Like]
      2022-03-22
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    • KYHBKO
      don't time it. it is best to follow the chart.
      2022-03-22
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  • Hksg
    ·2022-03-22
    bull or bear
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    • KYHBKO

      bear soon ... 

      2022-03-22
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  • RXU
    ·2022-03-22
    impt info
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    • KYHBKO

      hopefully, this can help us with our investing

      2022-03-25
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  • Aysan
    ·2022-03-22
    new to me, thx
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  • ensemble
    ·2022-03-21
    like the info share. thanks
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  • kylley412
    ·2022-03-23
    thanks for sharing!
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  • 小小刀据大树
    ·2022-03-22
    Thanks for sharing
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  • Discoverable
    ·2022-03-22
    Nice day
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  • OldCat
    ·2022-03-22
    Please like this
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  • Ac85
    ·2022-03-22
    thanks for sharing
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  • greedycat
    ·2022-03-22
    like一个呗
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  • cucurupiku
    ·2022-03-22
    I learn something today thanks
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  • MonkeyHanny
    ·2022-03-22
    good read
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  • ccy1122
    ·2022-03-22
    [Thinking] [Thinking] [Thinking] [OK] [OK] [OK] [Like] [Like] [Like]
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  • KukuSaguru
    ·2022-03-22
    informative
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