S&P 500 Snapshot: Another Narrow Trading Range To A Fractional Loss

Global equity markets were mixed today again today with a somewhat negative skew. In the US, the Dow posted a small gain of 0.14%, but any gain was enough to be the sixth consecutive record close for the elderly index. The S&P 500 matched it to the downside with a -0.14% close, down from yesterday's record close. The intraday trading range was the smallest of the year so far.

The yield on the 10-year note fell three basis points to close at 1.56%.

Here is a snapshot of past five sessions in the S&P 500.

Here is a daily chart of the S&P 500. The preliminary read on rading volume was 15% below its 50-day moving average.

A Perspective on Drawdowns

Here's a snapshot of selloffs since the 2009 trough.

Here is a more conventional log-scale chart with drawdowns highlighted.

Here is a linear scale version of the same chart with the 50- and 200-day moving averages.

A Perspective on Volatility

For a sense of the correlation between the closing price and intraday volatility, the chart below overlays the S&P 500 since 2007 with the intraday price range. We've also included a 20-day moving average to help identify trends in volatility.