The S&P 500 Just Made a Striking Move That Signals Something Big Ahead.

The index slid earlier in the half, and even temporarily reached into a bear market, amid concerns that President Trump's import tariff plan would push prices higher and weigh on the economy

Then, weeks later, trade talks and initial agreements mpted optimism that tariffs wouldn't be as high as originally expected -- and that lifted investors' biggest fears

And in recent days, the index went even a step further, making a striking move that signals one particular thing, according to history

Let's zoom in and find out what may be next

Image source: Getty Images

Stocks are soaring As mentioned, recent weeks have been bright for the benchmark and for investors

The bull market is going strong, and growth stocks that fell earlier in the year now are charging back and leading the indexes higher

And many other stocks ed, rebounding from lows and going on to der positive returns

Investors today are optimistic that trade deals will be fair, with reasonable tariff levels, and won't disrupt economic growth

This is fantastic news for all stocks, but it's particularly good news for growth players that rely on a strong economy to expand and develop

So, it's not surprising that they've roared higher in recent times

The index's 50-day moving average crossed above the 200-day moving average, forming what's known as a "golden cross" in nical analysis

Data source: Carson Investment Re

Of course, it's important to keep in mind a couple of things

Nical analysis focuses on market data to identify trends and then make predictions based on those trends

Sometimes this results in an accurate prediction, but that's not always the case

The weakness of this method is it ignores fundamentals, such as corporate earnings or economic and political news

These and other concrete factors could greatly impact stock movement or the movement of an index

On top of this, general historical trends also don't always repeat themselves

They the same weakness with nical analysis: They don't include fundamentals or news that may offer investors a reason to buy or sell

Why look at nical analysis

So now you may wonder: Why even look at nical analysis or history in general

That's because they do offer us some clues as to what's possible if other factors don't interfere

So, they might be used as one element to add to others

For example, today, a look at the golden cross and at the current economic and earnings situation could help us decide whether we should take a bullish or bearish view of the market in the months to come -- however, it's important to keep in mind that any new element could change the picture

That said, all of the elements we have as of now offer us reason to be optimistic the S&P 500 this year, and the best news of all is this: Regardless of the index's short-term performance, it's always gone on to advance over time, and that means it's a great idea to bet on top quality stocks and hold on for the long term

Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned

The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia

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