Is today a follow-through day?
William O'Neil's signal that a correction is over, checked on the S&P 500 after every close, with the distribution days that warn of the next one.
No, and none is needed: there is no correction to end.
The S&P 500 is -3.4% from its high, inside the 7% that would mark a correction. The last follow-through day was Apr 8, 2026.
Data as of Nov 9, 2026 close
Distribution days: Nov 5, 2026 · Oct 30, 2026 · Oct 29, 2026 · Oct 22, 2026 · Oct 14, 2026 · Oct 8, 2026
Every follow-through day since 2019
| Follow-through day | Rally day | S&P 500 | Volume vs day before | The correction it ended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 2026 | Day 6 | +2.51% | 1.29x | -9.1% to Mar 30, 2026 |
| Apr 22, 2025 | Day 9 | +2.51% | 1.10x | -18.9% to Apr 8, 2025 |
| Aug 13, 2024 | Day 6 | +1.68% | 1.11x | -8.5% to Aug 5, 2024 |
| Nov 2, 2023 | Day 4 | +1.89% | 1.09x | -10.3% to Oct 27, 2023 |
| Mar 21, 2023 | Day 6 | +1.30% | 1.00x | -7.8% to Mar 13, 2023 |
| Jan 6, 2023 | Day 6 | +2.28% | 1.06x | -7.3% to Dec 28, 2022 |
| Oct 21, 2022 | Day 7 | +2.37% | 1.11x | -16.9% to Oct 12, 2022 |
| Jun 24, 2022 | Day 5 | +3.06% | 1.57x | -12.2% to Jun 16, 2022 |
| May 26, 2022 | Day 5 | +1.99% | 1.04x | -15.8% to May 19, 2022 |
| Mar 16, 2022 | Day 6 | +2.24% | 1.19x | -13.0% to Mar 8, 2022 |
| Oct 12, 2020 | Day 13 | +1.64% | 1.06x | -9.6% to Sep 23, 2020 |
| Jun 30, 2020 | Day 13 | +1.54% | 1.09x | -7.1% to Jun 11, 2020 |
| Apr 2, 2020 | Day 8 | +2.28% | 1.04x | -33.9% to Mar 23, 2020 |
The rules, exactly
- A correction starts when the S&P 500 closes 7% or more below its high.
- A rally attempt starts on the first up close after the correction's low. A close below that low resets the count.
- A follow-through day is a gain of 1.25% or more, from the fourth day of the attempt on, on higher volume than the day before. It ends the correction.
- A distribution day is a fall of 0.2% or more on higher volume than the day before, counted over the last 25 sessions.
The method is William O'Neil's, from How to Make Money in Stocks. The 7% correction line is how this page decides a correction has begun.
About follow-through days
What is a follow-through day?
William O'Neil's signal that a market correction may be over. After the index makes a low, the first day it closes higher starts a rally attempt. From the fourth day of that attempt onward, a strong gain on volume higher than the day before is a follow-through day: proof that large investors are buying again. It confirms a new uptrend; it doesn't guarantee one, and some fail within days.
How big does the gain need to be?
O'Neil's threshold has changed over the years as markets became more volatile, from about 1% in his early work to around 1.25% to 1.7% later. This page uses 1.25% or more on the S&P 500, with volume above the previous session's.
What is a distribution day?
A day the index falls 0.2% or more on volume higher than the day before: a sign of large investors selling. O'Neil counted them over roughly the last 25 sessions. Four to six in that window often came before a correction.
Which volume does this page use?
The combined volume of the US stocks we track on the NYSE and Nasdaq that clear our liquidity floor. That is close to the exchange volume O'Neil compared day to day, though counts can differ slightly from published versions.
When does it update?
After every US close. The nightly run starts at around 5:30 pm ET.
End-of-day data for common stocks and ADRs on the NYSE, Nasdaq and NYSE American, computed after each US close and dated to the trading session.