Markets: Green Again

“It’s how tenacious you are that will determine your success.” – Steve Ballmer

After the 69th record high close for the S&P 500 yesterday, equity futures are pointing to a higher open again this morning which would be the fifth straight positive day.  After a rocky first half of December, the last four days have put the index firmly into positive territory with 1%+ gains in three of the last four trading days and a gain of 0.62% in the one day where we didn’t reach 1%.

With the last four days of gains, it didn’t take long for the S&P 500 to move back to what are generally considered ‘extreme’ overbought levels. As shown in the chart below, the S&P 500 made two brief trips below its 50-DMA in December (12/1 and 12/20) but has quickly rebounded.  Moves like the last four trading days show how difficult timing the market can be.  Even in a year where the S&P 500 is up 27%, nearly one-fifth of the year’s gains have come in the last four trading days alone.