S&P 500 increases as equities complete a turbulent, but positive first quarter
Stocks increased on Friday as the stock gauge closed out a volatile, though profitable, a quarter that saw the Federal Reserve continue to tighten interest rates and a mini-financial panic sparked by Silicon Valley Bank’s demise.
The S&P 500 increased by 0.3%.
The market got a slight boost Friday after the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge showed a less-than-expected increase in prices. The core Personal Consumption Expenditures index, which excludes energy and food costs, rose 0.3% in February, less than the 0.4% expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are up 5.5% and 14.8%, respectively, for the first quarter through Thursday’s close.
For the month the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have gained 2% and 4.9%, respectively. But it hasn’t been a smooth ride. Stocks mounted a comeback in the latter part of March after the month began with the failure of two regional banks, a forced takeover of Credit Suisse and a flight of deposits from smaller institutions. The government’s backstop of the deposits of SVB, as well as Signature Bank, and the setup of a special lending facility for other banks, helped stem the crisis.
Primary credit lending totalled $88.2 billion while banks took out $64.4 billion through the Fed’s new Bank Term Funding Program, according to Fed data released Thursday that covered the period from March 22-29. That total of $152.6 billion was down slightly from $164 billion the week before and a further sign the crisis was stabilizing as the month comes to an end.
The recent rally is “helping to confirm the market’s perception that the problems that brought the market to a crisis of confidence could very well be contained,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial.
S&P 500 TECHNICAL ANALYSIS DAILY CHART:
S&P 500 is currently trading in up channel.
S&P 500 is currently trading above all SMA.
RSI is in buying zone which suggests bullishness and Stochastic is suggesting up trend.
Immediate resistance is at 4060.50 & its immediate support level is 4048.15
HOW TO TRADE S&P 500 IN THIS WEEK
S&P 500 is presently trading higher; it broke its previous day’s high, and if it continues to trade above the resistance level, further gains may be possible to the second resistance.
