LIVE MARKETS-S&P 500 back within striking distance of highs, 7,000 milestone

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S&P 500 BACK WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE OF HIGHS, 7,000 MILESTONE

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI notched a record close on Friday, while also eclipsing 50,000 on a closing basis for the first time. With this, the S&P 500 .SPX is back to within striking distance of its record levels, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC still has work to do in order to challenge its all-time highs.

The S&P 500, which closed Friday at 6,932.30, ended down just 0.66% from its 6,978.60 January 27 record closing high and down 1.00% from its 7,002.28 January 28 record intraday high. (The Nasdaq .IXIC is down 3.87% from its October 29, 2025 record closing high and down 4.12% from its October 29, 2025 record intraday high.)

On Friday, three S&P 500 sectors: Energy .SPNY, Industrials .SPLRCI, and Staples .SPLRCS all scored fresh record closing highs. S&P 500 Value .IVX also finished at a record close.

In January, Value closed higher for a ninth straight month, which is its longest monthly winning streak ever using LSEG data back to 1995. Thus, by this measure, it may be stretched to the upside, and due for a rest.

Of note, also on Friday, the beleaguered Tech sector .SPLRCT posted its biggest daily gain since May of last year, and Growth .IGX ended a six-day losing streak relative to Value.

In any event, the S&P 500, once again, used its 100-day moving average (DMA) as a launching pad for a rally. After testing this longer-term moving average on Thursday, the SPX posted its biggest daily gain on Friday since May 27 of last year.

With Friday's thrust higher, the benchmark index reclaimed its 50-DMA, which ended at 6,885.

E-mini S&P 500 futures EScv1 are slipping around 0.2% in premarket trading on Monday, but If the SPX can ultimately break out to new highs, the next resistance will be a weekly Gann Line, which now resides around 7,105. This Gann Line has essentially capped strength since late 2024.

Breaking below the 100-DMA and Thursday's low at 6,780.13 can expose the S&P 500 to greater downside. The December 17 low was at 6,720.43. However, there are a number of significant support levels that now reside in the 6,525-6,430 area.

(Terence Gabriel)

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