Hindenburg Omen, Skyscraper Curse–technical indicators of a coming crash have ghoulishly clever names attached to them (with the exception of the Hemline Index), and one has now attached itself to the country's most successful company.
News that Apple was rapidly approaching a "Death Cross" last week rattled investors, but analysts largely shrugged, noting it's happened before and hardly hurt the tech giant's long-term performance.
"Charts register a death cross when both short- and long-term trend lines start to point south, as evidenced by a stock or benchmark's 50-day moving average cutting below its 200-day moving average," according to The Wall Street Journal's MarketBeat blog. "The crossroads suggest to some that recent declines could turn into a longer-term slump."
And while it affects individual companies, it can also apply to the economy as a whole, based on data embodied in various market indexes and sector funds.
But for Apple, recent death crosses aren't necessarily a sell signal, Market Beat notes.
It points to Collin Monsarrat, an analyst at Birinyi Associates, who says Apple shares have suffered through five death crosses dating back to November 2000.
