S&P 500 Trend Screener

This page describes the free S&P 500 screen on Trend & Behaviour. The exact checks are on the methodology page.

Run the S&P 500 screen

What this screener does

It is a free, rule-based screen of daily prices for the S&P 500. Inside that index the screen offers three lists: All 500, Leaders, and Momentum. Leaders is a shorter set of large names from the same index. Momentum runs the full index with the momentum preset. The same daily checks sit underneath all three.

A name is listed only when every check that is switched on passes. A check that is off is not part of the pass. The screen narrows a list. It does not recommend buying or selling, and it does not rank a name as better or worse than another.

Trend: close above the 50-day average

Trend is the close above the 50-day average. The average is a simple average of the last 50 daily closes. It is not an exponential average. The check passes when the last price is above that average. On a new visit this check is on.

Momentum: RSI and MACD

RSI is Wilder's 14-day RSI of the daily closes. The default band is 45–70, and that band is on by default. The band can be changed. A reading outside the band fails the check.

MACD is the 12-day exponential average of the closes minus the 26-day exponential average. The signal line is a 9-day exponential average of that MACD line. A cross is the day the MACD line moves from at or below the signal line to above it. The default asks for that cross within the last 3 sessions. The MACD check is off by default. You can turn it on.

Optional strategy and risk checks

You can add one strategy at a time. Trend Strength asks for a rising 50-day average with the close still above it. Breakout Readiness asks for the price near the highest high of the last 180 sessions. Pullback Setup looks for a dip back toward a 50-day that is still rising. Choosing one turns the other two off. None of the three is on by default.

The risk checks are also off until you turn them on. Beta versus the S&P is one year of daily moves against SPY, and the default band is 0 to 3. Hide earnings drops a US name that reports within 5 days, using the Nasdaq earnings calendar. Clear of resistance means the nearest ceiling is at least 3% above the close, or there is no ceiling in the band the screen watches. The full rules for each check are on the methodology page.

Data and limits

Daily bars come from Yahoo Finance, regular session only, about one year back. A quote is kept for eight minutes, so a scan can be a few minutes behind. This is not an exchange feed. The 50-day average, RSI, and MACD are calculated on completed daily closes. During the session the last price can move while those indicators still rest on finished days.

Not financial advice

Results are not recommendations to buy or sell anything. No performance is claimed. Past price behaviour does not predict future returns. A name that passes has only met the checks that were on.

FAQ