Death Cross
When a short-term moving average crosses below a long-term one — the ominous-sounding bearish counterpart to the golden cross.
A death cross is the inverse of a golden cross: a faster moving average (e.g. 50-day) crossing below a slower one (e.g. 200-day), read as a signal that momentum has turned bearish. The dramatic name guarantees it headlines whenever it appears.
Its predictive value is genuinely mixed. Because moving averages lag, a death cross often prints after the bulk of a decline has already happened, and it has repeatedly marked local bottoms rather than the start of further losses — the opposite of the fear it generates. It’s best understood as a description of past weakness, not a reliable forecast, and its headline power is itself a mild contrarian curiosity.