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Finaxion Research · 2-day RSI (the Connors rule) · indices and ETFs · Recomputed 2026-09-10

Does 2-day RSI (the Connors rule) work on QQQ?

2-day RSI (the Connors rule) does not beat buy-and-hold on QQQ: -4.0 points a year over 27 years.

Total return
497.9%
Buy and hold
×17
CAGR
6.7%
Sharpe
0.24
Max drawdown
-28.6%
Trades
644
Out of sample
partly
Years
27
1×10×17×20002002200420062008201020122014201620182020202220242026
StrategyQQQ

Findings

  1. 2-day RSI (the Connors rule) does not beat buy-and-hold on QQQ: -4.0 points a year over 27 years.
  2. Against the S&P 500 over the same window: -1.8 points a year.
  3. Total return +497.9% versus ×17 for buy-and-hold, with 644 trades.
  4. The result holds only partly out of sample.
  5. Maximum drawdown -28.6%.
  6. It beat before 2012 and stopped afterwards.
  7. It ranks #28 of 235 markets for this strategy by annual excess over the S&P 500.

Findings derived from the full panel. Each carries its number and its denominator; the computations are reproducible with artifact c0e771fe25fb.

Exactly what was tested

RSI(2) crosses below 10 → entry. RSI(2) crosses above 65 → exit. Next-close execution. No trend filter (we test the rule as it circulates).

How to read it

The verdict compares the strategy with buying and holding QQQ over the same window, with round-trip costs per asset class. “Out of sample” is walk-forward: the rule is fit on one stretch and judged on the next. A result that beats in the full sample but not out of it is overfit. Full methodology in the protocol. How we test.

Open this backtest with its trades   Trades (CSV)

Every strategy on QQQ → · Full page for 2-day RSI (the Connors rule) →

How to cite

Finaxion Research (2026). Does 2-day RSI (the Connors rule) work on QQQ?. Daily backtest 1962-01-01–2026-08-31, artifact c0e771fe25fb. https://finaxion.app/en/research/rsi-2-connors/qqq

Not a recommendation. Past performance does not guarantee future results.