Charting the S&P 500: Even a Big Down Day Does Not Shake the Index
Markets were rattled for a day last week but the bulls are resilient.
You've reached your free article limit
You've read 0 of 1 free Pro articles.
The thrashing markets took on last Wednesday was epic. It was nearly a record-setting day to the downside, reminiscent of those volatile sessions during the early stages of the pandemic, and most recently a massive drop in August of this year due to a yen carry trade disaster.
This time of year is often dominated by the bulls. The seasonal pattern and trends are in their favor, but so far in December the patterns have not held. With only six trading sessions left in 2024 the bulls are far behind, especially the Industrials and small-caps. But the S&P 500 might be able to right the ship; it's only down less than 2% for the month, while the Nasdaq is in the green (so far).
The S&P 500 chart, above, shows the MACD (moving average covergence/divergence) about to roll over, but we would need a confirming bar this week (to the downside) to make that happen. The index is still in the channel in the top pane, which tells us the market trend is still bullish. We worry here about momentum, which is declining at the moment. Money flow remains positive.
We think the market can finish strong over these last few trading days of the year and put the S&P at its highs for 2024 on the last day of trading!
