By Rob Isbitts
Publication Date: 2026-02-19 16:08:00
Trader looking at losses on smartphone by MMD Creative via Shutterstock
As I was recently scrolling through tons of exchange-traded fund (ETF) and stock charts on Barchart.com, in multiple time frames, something caught my eye.
It prompted an audible, “Oh, wow!” and I knew I had to tell you about it. Because while these types of moments do not always turn into major market moves, sometimes they do. And as I always say, long-term trend changes start with short-term price action.
At issue is the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ). This ETF is big and powerful, the closest thing the ETF world has to omnipotent. The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) gets the biggest “pub” from investors, but QQQ is where the consistently magnificent returns have come from. So it matters when any type of potential crack makes itself evident. I see one now.
Below is QQQ’s daily chart. It is weeping like a tree — the kind that weep, anyway. The 20-day moving average (in red) is about three weeks into a downtrend, and the 50-day has joined it in the loss column. The 200-day EMA is flat, and that in itself is remarkable. That hasn’t happened much the past two years, as you can see below. It has been a series of long positive moves, interrupted by occasional short bursts to the downside.
What makes QQQ the “king” of this market is its resilience. Small caps? Forget about ‘em! Dow Industrials (DIA)? Old fashioned — not to me, but to many traders and media personalities, too. International stocks?…
