Courtesy of Doug Short.
The S&P 500 surged at the open, accelerated into the midday hour and then coasted through the afternoon to a closing gain of 1.55%, the second best daily advance of 2012. The index is now back above its 50-day moving average and again in double-digit year-to-date territory at 10.59%, which is only 1.99% off its interim closing high set ten sessions ago.
From an intermediate perspective, the S&P 500 is 105.6% above the March 2009 closing low and 11.1% below the nominal all-time high of October 2007.
Below are two charts of the index, with and without the 50 and 200-day moving averages.
For a better sense of how these declines figure into a larger historical context, here’s a long-term view of secular bull and bear markets in the S&P Composite since 1871.
These charts are not intended as a forecast but rather as a way to study the current market in relation to historic market cycles.