This Time-Tested Metric Has Foreshadowed Virtually Every Major Stock Market Downturn This Century -- and It's Sounding a Warning Right Now

The article argues that a surge in U.S. margin debt is flashing a warning for the stock market even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite recently hit record highs. FINRA-reported margin debt reached a record $1.416 trillion in May 2026, up about 66% from April 2025 and only matched by prior spikes that preceded major downturns such as the dot-com bust, the financial crisis, and the 2022 bear market. The piece frames the rapid rise in leveraged speculation as a risk signal for Wall Street, suggesting the current rally may be less durable than headline index levels imply.