"As Thin As This Playing Card..."

In My Cousin Vinny when Joe Pesci is trying to explain to the clients he is defending that the prosecution’s case against them isn’t what it seems, he uses an analogy of building a house out of bricks.

He then tells his clients: “When you look at the bricks from the right angle, they're as thin as this playing card.”

And the data are starting to show the same could be said about this beyond optimistic retaking of all-time highs in the market, despite no solidified long-term ceasefires anywhere in the world yet…and valuations that still sit at all time highs. I’ve already written that this quick rebound after a justified sell-off isn’t a real rally in my eyes.

But one other particular data point is also extremely telling.

On April 15, 2026, the S&P 500 hit a fresh all-time high of 7026.24, yet only 12 stocks in the entire index managed to make a 52-week high. Twelve. Out of five hundred. If that sounds absurd, it should.

And it’s not just rare, it’s almost unheard of. Going back to 1999, there have only been a handful of similar readings: August 2025 saw just 10 stocks at new highs, and then you have to go all the way back to the late-1999/early-2000 period to find anything comparable, with counts between 9 and 12.

In other words, this isn’t normal “strong market” behavior. This is the kind of thing that shows up...(READ THIS FULL ARTICLE HERE).

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