The chart below, courtesy of Bespoke, shows that the S&P 500 Technology sector yesterday became the first of the ten major sectors of the S&P 500 Index to close above its “pre-Lehman” level of September 12, 2008. “… while the bulls will take it as a sign of the markets returning to a state of normalcy, bears will need to see a more convincing break …,” said Bespoke.
However, while the the other sector and broad market indices have gained considerably from their lows, they still have more work to do to reach the levels of before Lehman’s collapse, ranging from Financial (+36.8%) to Health Care (+11.3%). The major indices need to rise by the following percentages: S&P 500 Index +16.8%, Dow Jones Industrial Index +16.2% and Nasdaq Composite Index +5.4%.
Source: Bespoke, September 23, 2009.
