S&P 500 ends Tuesday near where it started at $4,373 after a mixed trading day

The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 major equity index closed Tuesday trading largely flat on the day, ending in the red a scant 0.01% to close at $4,373.20, down -0.43 points. The NASDAQ Composite saw a 0.25% loss to end the day down 34.24 points into $13,533.75, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) eked out a minor gain of 0.04%, rising 13.11 points to end the day at $33,997.65.

Equities mixed following the bumper US Retail Sales figures, with equity investors concerned about the Federal Reserve (Fed) failing to cut interest rates as quickly as markets would like. 

US Retail Sales rose 0.7% in September vs. 0.3% anticipated

Chip stocks saw the majority of the day's declines after the US Presidential Administration announced plans to halt shipments to China of AI-based chip tech, with NVIDIA leading the way down for major chip makers, declining over 4% on the day.

The US Retail Sales data beat, coupled with solid earnings beats for both Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, sent US Treasury yields into 17-year highs as strong consumer activity and bumping summer profits show the Fed's interest rate hikes may not be tying down the US domestic economy as many investors would be hoping for in order to get the rate cut cycle started, and continued upbeat data printings will see the Fed punished even further out on anticipated rate cuts, which are currently seen not until the third quarter of 2024.

S&P 500 Technical Outlook

The S&P 500 remains strung up in near-term familiar territory, and remains capped below last week's swing high into $4,396, with the 50-day Simple Moving Average pressing down from $4,400.

October's early bounce from $4,199 sees the S&P index climbing from the 200-day SMA with prices caught between scissor handles from the 50- and 200-day SMAs.

S&P 500 Daily Chart

S&P 500 Technical Levels