LIVE MARKETS-S&P 500 poised to rise for an eighth-straight month and a third-straight year

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com

S&P 500 POISED TO RISE FOR AN EIGHTH-STRAIGHT MONTH AND A THIRD-STRAIGHT YEAR

On Friday, the S&P 500 .SPX hit a record intraday high at 6,945.77. However, gains faded and the benchmark index retreated to end at 6,929.24, putting it below its 6,932.05 record closing high established in the prior session, and also ending a five-session winning streak.

However, it's still been a solid year for S&P 500 record closing highs. With three trading days to go in 2025, the index has scored 39 record closing highs so far this year.

The SPX is on track to rise for an eighth month in a row, as well as its third-straight quarter. It last rose more than seven straight months with a 10-month stretch of gains that ended in January 2018.

For the year, the benchmark index is now up 17.8%, putting it on track for its third yearly advance in a row. Its rolling three-year gain is now 80.5%, which is its biggest since 90.1% in 2021.

In any event, on a push to new highs, the S&P 500 will face the 7,000 psychological level, as well as a weekly Gann Line, which now resides around 7,010.

This Gann Line capped strength in late 2024 and early 2025, ahead of the SPX's near-20% collapse on a closing basis into its April trough. More recently, in late October and early November, the SPX was able to probe slightly above this barrier.

However, the index failed to score a weekly close above it, before promptly dropping a little over 5% into its November 20 closing low. Another approach of this line in early December led to a quick 2.6% drop into the December 17 closing low.

On weakness, the December 22 gap requires a fall to 6,840.02 for a fill. The rising 50-day moving average (DMA) should be around 6,795 on Monday.

The December 17 low was at 6,720.43, and the rising 100-DMA, which essentially contained weakness in mid-November, should be around 6,675 on Monday.

(Terence Gabriel)

EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

UKRAINE PEACE HOPES JUST A BLIP FOR DEFENCE STOCKS 2025 SURGE CLICK HERE

DEFENCE DRAGS, STOXX BRIEFLY HITS NEW PEAK CLICK HERE

BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE SET TO EXTEND YEAR-END GAINS CLICK HERE