New Jobless Claims were a tad better than expected and the Second Estimate of Q2 GDP was revised upward. Perhaps the market was more focused on global tensions or the forthcoming a three-day weekend. The S&P 500 opened lower and immediately dropped to its -0.48% intraday low. A partial recovery stalled during the lunch hour, and the index spent the rest of the day struggling around the 1998 level, two points below its Wednesday battleground. Its modest closing loss of 0.17% snapped a three-day rally that included two record closes.
Will the S&P 500 move back above 2000 prior to the extended Labor Day weekend? Stay tuned!
The yield on the 10-year Note closed at 2.34%, down 3 bps from yesterday's close and matching the lowest YTD close on August 15th. The yield on the 30-year Bond, which closed at 3.08%, is its lowest close since May of last year.
Here is a 15-minute chart of the past five sessions.
Trading volume was the second lowest of 2014 -- slightly higher than the 1 PM close on July 3rd.
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.
