Overview

The DeMARK Breadth Indices are a series of proprietary metrics available exclusively on Symbolik that leverage the predictive capabilities of the DeMARK Indicators to evaluate the participation and performance of individual securities within an equity index. They provide insights into the internal strength or weakness of the market and identify potential areas of trend exhaustion that may not be apparent in the index price itself. These indices have their own distinct ticker symbols which can be displayed visually on Symbolik charts as standalone indicators or incorporated as inputs for user-defined Expressions. 

 

Development and Methodology

Traditional market breadth indicators measure the overall strength or weakness of a market index by analyzing certain performance aspects on the underlying securities. Indicators like the Advance-Decline Line use the number of advancing and declining stocks to measure the degree of participation. Other indicators like the New Highs-Lows index look at the number of stocks with new 52-week highs and lows. The DeMARK Breadth Indices are unique in that they calculate the internal performance of stock constituents utilizing the Sequential indicator and its two key components: Setups and Countdowns. Specifically, they quantify the distribution and intensity of these outputs using the following criteria:

Stocks with an active Buy Setup or Sell Setup

• Tracks the number of stocks in an index with a Buy or Sell Setup Count equal to or greater than 1. This includes Setup Counts greater than 9 (which is the default completion value of the Setup phase in Sequential).
• Conceptually, Sell Setups and Buy Setups can be regarded as "Advancers" and "Decliners," respectively, as they both measure momentum by comparing the relative movement of prices over a defined period. A high number of stocks with a Sell Setup number implies strong market breadth and a broad participation in an upward market move. While a high number of Buy Setup stocks, similar to "Declining" stocks, implies weak market breadth and a large portion of the market experiencing bearish price movement. 

Stocks with a Buy or Sell Setup Equal to 9

• Counts the stocks where a Buy or Sell Setup is equal to 9. A Setup Count of 9 is the default completion value of the Setup phase.
• A higher number of stocks in this category suggests that many stocks may be nearing a short-term reversal or pause in their prevailing trend.

Stocks with a Buy or Sell Countdown Equal to 13

• Measures the number of stocks where a Buy or Sell Countdown is equal to 13. A Countdown value of 13 is the default completion value of the Sequential Countdown Phase.
• Highlights the areas of potential exhaustion where the existing trend is vulnerable to a reversal. 

These metrics calculate both the net count and the percentage of stocks within the index that meet the specified criteria.

 

DeMARK Breadth Indices Ticker Symbols

Below is a full list of the available breadth ticker symbols featured on Symbolik.

S&P 500

Symbol	Description
SPXBSUN	The number of S&P 500 stocks with a Buy Setup Count >= 1
SPXBSUP	The percentage of S&P 500 stocks with a Buy Setup Count >= 1
SPXSSUN	The number of S&P 500 stocks with a Sell Setup Count >= 1
SPXSSUP	The percentage of S&P 500 stocks with a Sell Setup Count >= 1
SPXBSU9N	The number of S&P 500 stocks with a Buy Setup = 9
SPXBSU9P	The percentage of S&P 500 stocks with a Buy Setup = 9
SPXSSU9N	The number of S&P 500 stocks with a Sell Setup = 9
SPXSSU9P	The percentage of S&P 500 stocks with a Sell Setup = 9
SPXSEQ13BN	The number of S&P 500 stocks with a Sequential Buy Countdown = 13
SPXSEQ13BP	The percentage of S&P 500 stocks with a Sequential Buy Countdown = 13
SPXSEQ13SN	The number of S&P 500 stocks with a Sequential Sell Countdown = 13
SPXSEQ13SP	The percentage of S&P 500 stocks with a Sequential Sell Countdown = 13

Nasdaq 100

Symbol	Description
NDXBSUN	The number of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Buy Setup Count >= 1
NDXBSUP	The percentage of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Buy Setup Count >= 1
NDXSSUN	The number of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Sell Setup Count >= 1
NDXSSUP	The percentage of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Sell Setup Count >= 1
NDXBSU9N	The number of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Buy Setup = 9
NDXBSU9P	The percentage of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Buy Setup = 9
NDXSSU9N	The number of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Sell Setup = 9
NDXSSU9P	The percentage of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Sell Setup = 9
NDXSEQ13BN	The number of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Sequential Buy Countdown = 13
NDXSEQ13BP	The percentage of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Sequential Buy Countdown = 13
NDXSEQ13SN	The number of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Sequential Sell Countdown = 13
NDXSEQ13SP	The percentage of Nasdaq 100 stocks with a Sequential Sell Countdown = 13

Dow Jones Industrial Average

Symbol	Description
DJIBSUN	The number of DJI stocks with a Buy Setup Count >= 1
DJIBSUP	The percentage of DJI stocks with a Buy Setup Count >= 1
DJISSUN	The number of DJI stocks with a Sell Setup Count >= 1
DJISSUP	The percentage of DJI stocks with a Sell Setup Count >= 1
DJIBSU9N	The number of DJI stocks with a Buy Setup = 9
DJIBSU9P	The percentage of DJI stocks with a Buy Setup = 9
DJISSU9N	The number of DJI stocks with a Sell Setup = 9
DJISSU9P	The percentage of DJI stocks with a Sell Setup = 9
DJISEQ13BN	The number of DJI stocks with a Sequential Buy Countdown = 13
DJISEQ13BP	The percentage of DJI stocks with a Sequential Buy Countdown = 13
DJISEQ13SN	The number of DJI stocks with a Sequential Sell Countdown = 13
DJISEQ13SP	The percentage of DJI stocks with a Sequential Sell Countdown = 13

Note: Each DeMARK Breadth Index is updated at the end of each trading day. All corporate actions and constituent changes within the respective underlying index are taken into account. Historical data is available from August 2015.

 

Application and Customization

Standalone Metrics

Like any other ticker symbol, the DeMark Breadth Indices can be charted directly as standalone metrics, offering a visual representation of market breadth and constituent behavior. Because they act like any other index ticker, you can apply technical studies on them such as simple moving averages, RSI, or any of the DeMARK Indicators. 

Additionally, they can also be analyzed in a Multi-Chart layout, allowing for direct comparison with their corresponding market index. Here, you can determine whether the internal dynamics of the underlying members align with the overall index itself.

Expressions

By incorporating the Expressions functionality within Symbolik, these indices can be used as inputs to create your own customized breadth indicators. For example, the ticker symbol SPXSSUN which measures the "Number of Stocks with a Sell Setup Count" can serve as a proxy for an “Advance Line” and the SPXBSUN symbol that represents the "Number of Stocks with a Buy Setup Count" can represent a “Decline Line.” In the Chart Search bar, type in SPXSSUN - SPXBSUN to create a custom Advance-Decline Line and view it on a chart. You can save this custom expression and assign your own ticker symbol to pull up again for future reference. 

 

Interpretation

Alignment

Similar to traditional market breadth indicators, the DeMARK Breadth Indices evaluate whether an index’s movement is driven by broad market participation or a select few stocks. They can be used to confirm whether the price action of individual stocks aligns with the broader market trend. When a market index (e.g. the S&P 500 index) generates a Sequential indication, assessing how many individual components share the same signal can reinforce the credibility of the broader market trend.

For example, in late September and early October 2022, the SPXSEQ13BP ticker—which tracks the percentage of S&P 500 stocks with an active Sequential 13 Buy Countdown—began rising. One week after the S&P 500 itself triggered a Sequential 13 Buy Countdown, the SPXSEQ13BP registered its highest reading to date, confirming widespread trend exhaustion across individual stocks. This alignment reinforced the significance of the market-wide Sequential indication.

Divergence

These indices can also highlight potential divergences between the overall market index and its underlying constituents, signaling areas of hidden strength or weakness.

For instance, in December 2024, just one week after the S&P 500 reached an all-time high, the SPXBSU9P ticker—measuring the percentage of S&P 500 stocks with a 9 Buy Setup—spiked above 15%. This suggested that 15% of the index’s stocks were experiencing bearish momentum, with nine consecutive closes lower than the close four bars earlier. However, the S&P 500 itself had only a Buy Setup Count of 1 and remained near its all-time high, indicating a potential disconnect between the broader market and its individual components.

The last time the SPXBSU9P symbol reached a similar extreme was on September 23, 2022—a day when the S&P 500 also had a completed 9 Buy Setup, but was trading more than 20% below its prior all-time high.

Only four trading days later (December 18, 2024), the S&P 500 dropped nearly 3% in a single session, marking one of the steepest daily declines since the 2022 bear market.

Although the S&P 500 remained near its all-time high, the DeMARK Breadth Indices provided a deeper view of market internals, revealing a significant percentage of stocks in a downward trend. This bearish divergence signaled underlying weakness in the broader market before the decline occurred.