Courtesy of Doug Short.
Today’s action in the S&P 500 was confined to a narrow range of about five and a half points and on thin volume. But the closing gain of 0.17% set a new interim high, surpassing the previous interim high of April 29, 2011. We’re at a nominal level last seen in June of 2008. The index gained a modest 0.33% for the week, but that sets a new year-to-date high of 8.60%.
From an intermediate perspective, the S&P 500 is 101.9% above the March 2009 closing low and 12.7% 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.
