Europe rallied today, with the Euro Stoxx 50 rising 1.21%, and the S&P 500 initially appeared to be following suit. It opened higher but hit its 0.35% intraday high within five minutes. The index then sold off to its noon hour bounce in the vicinity of the 2000 price point. A half-hearted lunch-hour rally lost steam, and the index dropped back to its 3 PM -0.21% intraday low just below the 2000 tightrope. A bit of buying in the final hour trimmed the loss to -0.08% and a close just above the 2000 benchmark.
The yield on the U.S. 10-Year Note closed at 2.41%, down 1 bp from yesterday's close.
Here is a 15-minute chart of the past five sessions. I've highlighted the 2000 level, which (not surprisingly) has alternated between support and resistance.
Today's volume was a close match to yesterday -- higher than the August doldrums but still below its 50-day moving average.
For a longer-term perspective, here is a pair of charts based on daily closes starting with the all-time high prior to the Great Recession.
