The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed above the 12,000 mark during Tuesday's trading session, after reaching its lowest level since March 2011 on Monday.
The Dow and S&P 500 have closed in negative territory for six consecutive weeks, posting a loss of about 5.7 percent, while the S&P has dropped 5.5 percent. Could investors benefit from the recent pullback in the market?
On Wall Street, moving averages are used to determine trends and smooth out price fluctuations, defining support and resistance numbers.
Investors trading off these metrics tend to look for certain unusual patterns that may develop, taking advantage of any extreme price movements.
Oliver Quillia for cnbc.com
Staples
Consider the S&P 500, for example, which has traded, on average, 0.21 percent over/below its 50-day moving average in the past three months.
The last time the S&P 500 crossed below its 50-day moving average was on June 1, 2011 and has dropped about two percent since then.
Some stocks, however, seem to have significantly deviated from their trading ranges, perhaps increasing the possibility of a rebound in the markets.
Among the companies farthest away from their 50-day moving average, Juniper Networks is at the top of the list.
Staples and Newell Rubbermaid are also among the leaders.
At the current levels, the S&P 500 is about 3 percent below its 50-day moving average, compared to the stock price on these three companies, which is 18 to 19 percent below.
Among the S&P sectors, financials and technology companies are down the most in relation to their 50-day moving averages.
While a bearish trend may not necessarily mean that a stock is undervalued, it could certainly serve as point of reference when investors may start searching for opportunities.
Here is a look at 20 stocks in the S&P 500 trading farthest below their 50-day moving averages.
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