Market cycle

Where the market and economy sit right now — computed live from primary sources (S&P 500 + the Federal Reserve's FRED data). Data & analysis only, not advice. As of 2026-08-01 10:46 UTC.

Bull Market · Expansion (mid)

current phase

Expansion: equities above trend, no recession signal.

Recovery (early)
● Expansion (mid)
Slowdown (late)
Contraction (recession)

The four-phase business cycle. Highlighted = where we are now, per the indicators below. NBER is the official arbiter of US recessions (it dates them with a lag).

S&P 500 regime
Bull Market · -1.6% from 52-wk high, +20% off low
Above 200-day average (7,024)
Volatility (VIX)
16.0
Calm

Sector rotation

live · 3-month leadership

All 11 S&P sectors ranked by 3-month return (SPDR ETFs). In a Expansion (mid), the textbook leaders are Technology, Industrials, Communication; right now it's Health Care, Financials, Technology, Industrials. Technology, Industrials leading now confirms the phase.

Health Care ▲ LEADER
+12.0%
Financials ▲ LEADER
+9.7%
Technology ▲ LEADER ✓ phase
+8.3%
Industrials ▲ LEADER ✓ phase
+4.0%
Real Estate
+1.7%
Energy
+1.2%
Cons. Staples
+1.0%
Materials
-1.8%
Cons. Discretionary
-2.1%
Utilities
-4.7%
Communication
-7.3%

S&P 500 — 2 years

^GSPC daily
$7,609.78$4,982.77$7,316.15 (+34.3% 1Y)

Cycle context

The S&P 500 has held above its 200-day average for 80 trading days (~3 months). For perspective, post-WWII U.S. expansions have averaged about 5 years (NBER) and bull markets run ~5 years / +150% on average — expansions rarely end from age alone; they typically end on a shock, Fed over-tightening, or a credit/inflation imbalance. The curve, Sahm rule and credit-spread readings above are the early-warning gauges to watch.

Sources

Equity regime from the S&P 500 (^GSPC) via Yahoo Finance. Macro from FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis): yield curve T10Y2Y/T10Y3M, UNRATE, FEDFUNDS, SAHMREALTIME, CPIAUCSL. Official US business-cycle dating: the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee. Classification rules are transparent and recomputed on every load.

Alt-Data Signal Hub · collected signals updated 2026-06-01 19:21 UTC (refreshed daily) · market & option prices are always live on load · display-only, not advice

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