We’ve been covering the signs of weakness for stocks, from the bearish divergences in March, to the mega-cap growth stocks breaking through their 50-day moving averages, to even the dramatic increase in volatility often associated with major market tops. While Q1 was marked by broad market strength and plenty of new 52-week highs, Q2 has so far provided a much different playbook for investors. Both bulls and bears have felt validated by the recent choppiness for the major market averages. Over the last week, the S&P 500 managed to gain about 2.7%, despite some hotter-than-expected inflation data and a mixed bag of earnings for the Magnificent 7 stocks. Does this set us up for much further gains, and a potential break to new all-time highs, as we continue through the second quarter? Or are we currently experiencing the “dead cat bounce” phase with a countertrend move to the upside before the great bear market…
