The Nasdaq 100 ETF is in the midst of its longest uptrend in history: 138 consecutive trading days above its 50-day moving average.

On CBNC today (click here to view) I discussed a number of factors that are signaling a potential end to this historic run (click here for my recent post on gray skies). If the streak is indeed coming to an end, what does that mean for the market? Is it a signal of a top, a bottom, or nothing at all?

To answer that question, let’s take a look back in history at the end of prior uptrends in the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ).

2010 – 2011

Streak ends with an 8% correction. New highs soon follow.

1999 – 2000

Streak ends with a 36% correction, marking the start of the 2000-2002 Bear Market.

2003

Streak ends with a 7% correction. New high soon follow.

2014

Streak ends with an 8% correction. New highs soon follow.

2006

Streak ends with a minor 4% pullback. New highs soon follow.

2004-2005

Streak ends with a 14% correction. New highs are not hit until November 2005, 11 months after the prior high.

2007

Streak ends with a 10% correction. New highs soon follow, culminating in the bull market peak in October 2007.

What Happens When a Long Uptrend Ends?

Most of the time, there’s a pullback/correction which is followed shortly thereafter by new highs. We saw this in 2011, 2003, 2014, 2006, and 2007. In 2005, a deeper correction ensued which took some time (11 months) to reach new highs again. The most bearish example was after the 1999-2000 uptrend which saw an initial 36% correction that marked the start of a devastating bear market.

Which will occur this time around? I don’t know. Nobody does. The only thing I would say is that such a break will likely coincide with higher volatility in markets. We illustrated the relationship between moving averages and volatility in a research paper last year, showing that volatility tends to increase when indices are trading below commonly referenced moving averages such as the 50-day and 200-day.

Over the past two months, the Volatility Index (VIX) has seen 9 out of its 19 lowest closes in history. Given the mean-reverting nature of volatility, we should expect to see higher levels in the back half of the year. A break below the 50-day moving average would only strengthen that case.