The seven-day rally in the S&P 500 ended today when the index gave back a third of a percent of its recent gains, down 0.34% to be precise, which was off the -0.42% intraday low nine minutes before the closing bell. The big pre-open news was a much lower than expected initial jobless claims, but the good news was essentially nullified by word that data from two states wasn't included because of computer upgrades. Aside from incomplete data on jobless claims, another source of confusion is the ongoing lack of resolution on Syria. And of course it's not surprising that the market should pause in advance of the September FOMC decision on QE tapering.
The yield on the 10-year note closed at 2.92%, down 1 bp from yesterday's close and 6 bps off its interim closing high last Thursday.
Here's a 15-minute look at the week so far, which illustrates the diminishing strength aging rally prior to today slump.
Today's decline was on weaker volume than yesterday's gain but just a whisker away from its 50-day moving average.
The S&P 500 is now up 18.04% for 2013 and 1.54% below the all-time closing high of August 2.
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.