S&P 500 New Lows Top New Highs Near Record — 1999 Echo — SkimNews
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- S&P 500 jumped about 1.5% Monday to within 1% of a new 52-week high, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 2% to a record — but 30 S&P 500 stocks landed at new 52-week lows versus seven reaching fresh highs.
- Jason Goepfert, founder of SentimenTrader and an adviser at NextGen News, said the only prior instances of this divergence — an index gaining 1%+ within 1% of a 52-week high while new lows outnumber new highs — were December 21, 1999, a few months before the Dotcom Bubble peak, and July 23, 1929.
- Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, attributed the rally's narrow base to leadership from communication services, information technology, and consumer discretionary — IT sits within 1% of a 52-week high while communication services and consumer discretionary remain 4% and 7% below theirs.
- Hogan said the index "is not going to make new highs" if the Middle East war persists, energy prices remain "stubbornly high," and the Fed continues to hike rates, warning more sessions like Monday's could come if sentiment stays subdued.
- The S&P 500 has climbed more than 13% year-to-date in 2026 and added over 19% in the six months through Monday's session despite the deteriorating breadth.
Why it matters: Three sectors — communication services, IT, and consumer discretionary — are carrying the S&P 500 within 1% of a record while 30 of its members sit at 52-week lows, a split last seen December 21, 1999, before the Dotcom Bubble peak. Hogan explicitly ties the index's path forward to the war easing, energy prices retreating, and the Fed pausing hikes, meaning the headline rally is conditional rather than assured.
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