They also mention “Lead stocks” as a supplemental way to judge the distribution day. The might say “Despite 7 distribution days on the S&P, 3 were fairly low volume and leading stocks are holding up well, so we maintain 80-100% exposure” (I made that quote up out of memory of things they say).
And other qualifiers like this from Friday.
Decliners outnumbered advancers on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. Volume ran higher on both exchanges, adding a distribution day to each. It’s worth noting that this was skewed by this being a triple witching day.
Maybe we can think of it like the weather forecast. Which would make you likely to grab the umbrella? “Tomorrow there is a 90% chance of scattered sprinkles” or “Tomorrow, there is a 60% chance of wide-spread thunder storms” ?