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Market Structure · Beta Instability

Market X-Ray

The chart can be fine while participation breaks down underneath. The X-Ray measures it directly — upside beta (on up-days), downside beta (on down-days), asymmetry and instability — across the key structure pairs and 343 names in our indices. Detecting the rotation before price makes it obvious.

vs S&P 500 31% losing upside participation, 37% gaining downside fragility
vs Nasdaq-100 36% losing upside participation, 27% gaining downside fragility

Updated daily · data as of 2026-06-16 · Participation fragile — fragility rising beneath the surface

Latest read The Generals Have Followed Their Troops — the breadth warning becomes price confirmation →

The pairs we watch — full scores

Each pair, decomposed on up-days and down-days separately. These are the published "Troops Leaving Before the Generals" set — now confirmed by price in "The Generals Have Followed Their Troops".

SMH / QQQ fragile

Semiconductor leadership vs Nasdaq

Upside β1.78
Downside β1.93
Asymmetry-0.15
Particip.0.92
horizon21d63d126d252d
up β1.621.711.781.67
down β1.921.861.931.82
β-z +1.56instab 40 partic 70fragil 99
downside-beta expansionnegative beta asymmetry
XSD / QQQ fragile

Equal-weight semis vs Nasdaq

Upside β1.83
Downside β2.07
Asymmetry-0.24
Particip.0.88
horizon21d63d126d252d
up β1.591.621.831.84
down β2.362.322.071.98
β-z +1.63instab 59 partic 90fragil 100
downside-beta expansionnegative beta asymmetryupside participation deteriorating (sharp)downside-beta expansion (sharp)
XSD / SPY fragile

Equal-weight semis vs market

Upside β2.22
Downside β2.40
Asymmetry-0.18
Particip.0.93
horizon21d63d126d252d
up β2.751.982.222.39
down β3.132.852.402.54
β-z +1.67instab 83 partic 65fragil 89
downside-beta expansionnegative beta asymmetryupside participation deteriorating (sharp)downside-beta expansion (sharp)
IWM / SPY neutral

Small-cap participation

Upside β1.21
Downside β1.11
Asymmetry+0.11
Particip.1.10
horizon21d63d126d252d
up β1.031.121.211.41
down β1.191.131.111.21
β-z -0.31instab 8 partic 36fragil 40
RSP / SPY neutral

S&P 500 equal-weight participation

Upside β0.75
Downside β0.78
Asymmetry-0.03
Particip.0.96
horizon21d63d126d252d
up β0.500.740.750.79
down β0.780.730.780.76
β-z -1.41instab 34 partic 19fragil 49
upside-beta collapsenegative beta asymmetryupside participation deteriorating (sharp)
HYG / SPY neutral

Credit confirmation

Upside β0.27
Downside β0.22
Asymmetry+0.05
Particip.1.24
horizon21d63d126d252d
up β0.240.280.270.29
down β0.200.220.220.18
β-z +1.00instab 24 partic 45fragil 54
ARKK / QQQ healthy-leader

Speculative-growth appetite

Upside β1.52
Downside β1.51
Asymmetry+0.01
Particip.1.00
horizon21d63d126d252d
up β1.371.421.521.45
down β1.501.381.511.74
β-z -1.95instab 55 partic 64fragil 36

Participation breadth — by index (vs S&P 500)

Want a specific name? Open the X-Ray Directory → — search, sort and open any of 2019 names on the full toolbox vs SPY & Nasdaq.

How to read it

For each pair (asset vs benchmark), returns are split into the benchmark's up-days and down-days. Upside β is participation in rallies; downside β is vulnerability in selloffs; asymmetry (up − down) and the participation ratio (up ÷ down) say whether an asset captures more upside than downside. Read across 21 / 63 / 126 / 252 days: a sharp drop at the short horizon while the long looks fine is the early warning.

For information and discussion only — a reading of market internals, not investment advice. Scores are relative and descriptive. Cross-read with the Money Temperature regime.