Nasdaq 100 sets record with weakest breadth since 2024
- Nasdaq 100 hit record high of 30,972, but 55 of 101 stocks trade below 50-day moving average
- Breadth at 43.56% is near historic lows, compared to 71.5% average for record days since 2015
- Cap-weighted QQQ outperformed equal-weighted QQQE by 8% since late July due to mega-cap strength
- Several major tech names like AppLovin and Intuit remain down over 50% year-to-date despite index gains
*this image is generated using AI for illustrative purposes only.
The Nasdaq 100 closed at a record high on Monday, yet 55 of its 101 constituents traded below their 50-day moving average. This divergence highlights extreme market concentration, where index gains are driven by a narrow group of large-cap stocks rather than broad participation.
Record highs with historic weakness
The index rose 0.53% to 30,972 on Monday, surpassing Friday’s record close of 30,807.93. Despite this peak, only 44% of the index’s members are in an uptrend relative to their 50-day average. This marks one of the weakest breadth readings for a record day in recent history.
Since 2015, the Nasdaq 100 has recorded 373 record closes. On those days, an average of 71.5% of members traded above their 50-day average. Friday’s close saw only 43.56% of stocks above that line, trailing the norm by approximately 27 percentage points. Only one prior record close had weaker participation: September 10, 2025, when 41.58% of stocks were above their 50-day average.
Notably, record highs with fewer than half of the members in an uptrend did not occur before 2024.
Concentration drives ETF performance gap
The disparity between cap-weighted and equal-weighted exposure underscores the concentration of returns. The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ), which weights companies by market value, has outperformed the Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Shares (NASDAQ: QQQE) by 8% since the end of July.
On Monday, QQQ traded at $753.72, while QQQE traded at $121.84. The ratio between the two funds, a measure of index concentration, stands at 6.19. This is just 2% below its all-time high of 6.33, set on May 14, 2026.
What the numbers show
A stark divergence exists between index-level performance and individual stock health. While the Nasdaq 100 is up 22.7% year-to-date, several major constituents remain deeply underwater. For instance, AppLovin Corp (NASDAQ: APP) is down 57.80% year-to-date and trades 13.45% below its 50-day average. Similarly, Intuit Inc (NASDAQ: INTU) is down 57.31% year-to-date and sits 12.48% below its 50-day average.
Conversely, some stocks trading below their short-term averages have posted strong year-to-date gains, indicating recent pullbacks from highs rather than sustained downtrends. Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC) is down 5.09% against its 50-day average but remains up 155.94% year-to-date.
Stocks trading below 50-day moving average
| Company | Price | 50-Day Avg | % vs 50-Day | YTD % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axon Enterprise Inc. | $408.34 | $527.91 | -22.65% | -28.10% |
| Booking Holdings Inc. | $157.42 | $189.19 | -16.79% | -26.51% |
| Paychex Inc. | $99.01 | $116.76 | -15.20% | -11.74% |
| AppLovin Corp. | $284.37 | $328.56 | -13.45% | -57.80% |
| Ferrovial SE | $51.82 | $59.74 | -13.26% | -19.80% |
| Comcast Corp. | $21.55 | $24.68 | -12.65% | -23.02% |
| Intuit Inc. | $282.78 | $323.10 | -12.48% | -57.31% |
| Paccar Inc. | $109.75 | $124.23 | -11.65% | +0.22% |
| Netflix Inc. | $66.83 | $75.50 | -11.48% | -28.72% |
| Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. | $202.01 | $225.61 | -10.46% | -21.10% |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | $217.89 | $240.41 | -9.37% | -45.21% |
| Copart Inc. | $27.68 | $30.49 | -9.19% | -29.28% |
| Roper Technologies Inc. | $357.11 | $390.66 | -8.59% | -19.77% |
| Adobe Inc. | $236.51 | $258.71 | -8.58% | -32.42% |
| PepsiCo Inc. | $125.11 | $136.76 | -8.52% | -12.83% |
| Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. | $179.31 | $195.50 | -8.28% | +14.36% |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. | $725.01 | $786.24 | -7.79% | -6.07% |
| PDD Holdings Inc. | $77.26 | $83.66 | -7.65% | -31.86% |
| Honeywell Aerospace Inc. | $155.58 | $168.45 | -7.64% | n/a |
| Starbucks Corp. | $94.40 | $102.12 | -7.56% | +12.10% |
| DoorDash Inc. | $191.81 | $206.20 | -6.98% | -15.31% |
| T-Mobile US Inc. | $164.37 | $176.06 | -6.64% | -19.05% |
| Exelon Corp. | $41.01 | $43.75 | -6.28% | -5.93% |
| Diamondback Energy Inc. | $184.88 | $197.24 | -6.27% | +22.98% |
| Thomson Reuters Corp. | $95.51 | $101.63 | -6.02% | -28.70% |
| Mondelez International Inc. | $58.15 | $61.88 | -6.02% | +8.03% |
| GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. | $65.17 | $68.81 | -5.29% | -20.54% |
| Western Digital Corp. | $440.91 | $464.58 | -5.09% | +155.94% |
| O'Reilly Automotive Inc. | $83.85 | $88.31 | -5.05% | -8.07% |
| Autodesk Inc. | $221.87 | $233.65 | -5.04% | -25.05% |
| Xcel Energy Inc. | $71.84 | $75.61 | -4.99% | -2.73% |
| Coca-Cola Europacific Partners plc | $100.64 | $105.71 | -4.80% | +10.96% |
| PayPal Holdings Inc. | $53.80 | $56.46 | -4.70% | -7.84% |
| Automatic Data Processing Inc. | $259.02 | $271.53 | -4.61% | +0.70% |
| Ross Stores Inc. | $226.65 | $237.52 | -4.58% | +25.82% |
| Baker Hughes Co. | $57.86 | $60.63 | -4.57% | +27.05% |
| Monster Beverage Corp. | $43.42 | $45.42 | -4.39% | +13.28% |
| CSX Corp. | $47.38 | $49.32 | -3.94% | +30.70% |
| Walmart Inc. | $104.72 | $108.76 | -3.71% | -6.00% |
| Cintas Corp. | $194.37 | $201.45 | -3.52% | +3.35% |
| Airbnb Inc. | $164.18 | $170.14 | -3.50% | +20.97% |
| Honeywell International Inc. | $213.32 | $220.94 | -3.45% | +4.31% |
| IDEXX Laboratories Inc. | $524.98 | $543.41 | -3.39% | -22.40% |
| Broadcom Inc. | $361.33 | $372.81 | -3.08% | +4.40% |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | $504.22 | $518.74 | -2.80% | +11.22% |
| American Electric Power Co. Inc. | $120.38 | $123.55 | -2.56% | +4.40% |
| MercadoLibre Inc. | $1,815.04 | $1,860.53 | -2.45% | -9.89% |
| Amgen Inc. | $401.76 | $410.00 | -2.01% | +22.75% |
| Amazon.com Inc. | $252.11 | $256.94 | -1.88% | +9.22% |
| Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. | $30.86 | $31.27 | -1.31% | +10.17% |
| Costco Wholesale Corp. | $925.13 | $932.93 | -0.84% | +7.28% |
| Constellation Energy Corp. | $269.21 | $271.37 | -0.80% | -23.79% |
| Workday Inc. | $186.24 | $186.90 | -0.36% | -13.29% |
| Alphabet Inc. Class C | $341.90 | $342.23 | -0.10% | +8.95% |
| DexCom Inc. | $86.65 | $86.68 | -0.03% | +30.56% |
How might the historic divergence between cap-weighted and equal-weighted Nasdaq performance influence institutional rebalancing strategies in the coming quarter?
What specific macroeconomic catalysts or earnings trends could trigger a broadening of market breadth to align with the current index highs?
Will the extreme concentration in mega-cap tech stocks increase vulnerability to sector-specific regulatory risks or AI-related valuation corrections?
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