S&P 500 recovers back to $4,300 for Thursday, but September still sees red
- The S&P 500 rose on Thursday alongside the other major US indices as equities recover from recent losses.
- Equities have struggled in September, and the month is set to be the worst-performing of the year for stocks.
- Upcoming US PCE inflation figures could see volatility jump as equity traders fear Fed moves.
The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 major equity index eked out a reasonable gain on Thursday, closing up almost 0.60% just shy of $4,300.00.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) also finished in the green, up 116 points on Thursday to end the day at $33,666.34 (0.35%); The Nasdaq Composite also beat the bids on Thursday, climbing over 0.80% to close at $13,201.28.
A recovery in US equities was a welcome change of pace for investors on Thursday; the S&P has dropped rapidly in recent weeks, and is currently down over 5.0% from September's highs near $4,540.00.
September is on pace to be the year's single worst-performing month for equities, with the majority of indexes broadly off of the summer highs.
Overboiling selling pressure eased off on Thursday alongside a reprieve for US Treasury yields, giving equities a chance to rebound heading into Friday's bumper US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index data release.
On the docket: US PCE inflation measure to close out trading week
Recession worries and investors rattled by a possible US government shutdown over partisan grandstanding have weighed heavily on equities. US yields initially hit a fresh 15-year high on Thursday after US data showed better-than-expected Initial Jobless Claims.
US PCE inflation is broadly expected to hold steady at 0.2% for the month of August.
S&P 500 technical outlook
The S&P 500 has fallen away from the 34-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) in the last few weeks' fast drop from the month's peak near $4,540.00. The 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) is sitting just north of the $4,200.00 level.
Despite Thursday's rebound, the S&P is still in the red for the week which started near $4,325.00, and markets will be looking to firm up a bullish rally into the year's top at $4,600.00.
On the short side, there's little in the way of technical support beyond the 200-day SMA, and the bottom opens up towards the last major swing low at March's bottom at the $3,800.00 handle.
S&P 500 daily chart
S&P 500 technical levels
Author
Joshua Gibson
FXStreet
Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.
