S&P 500 Snapshot: The Index Rises After A Confusing Employment Report

The much anticipated December Employment Report was a bizarre mixed bag — weak job creation but a surprising decline in unemployment. Treasuries rallied in no uncertain terms. The yield on the 10-year note dropped nine bps to close at 2.88%. The S&P 500 was a bit more ambivalent in its reaction. The index hit its 0.27% intraday high a few seconds after the open and sold off to its -0.31% intraday low two hours later. It recovered to the flatline during the noon hour, and, after two hours of uncertainty, got a 3PM buy signal. The index closed with a 0.23% gain for the day and a 0.60% gain for the week.

Here is a 5-minute look at today with a bit of yesterday for context.

 

 

A snapshot of the 10-year yield index underscores my point about the less ambivalent mind of the government bond market.

 

 

Volume on a daily chart of the S&P 500 shows us that today’s bizarre economic news triggered no surge in activity.

 

 

The S&P 500 is now down 0.32% for 2014.

Here is a longer perspective, starting with the all-time high prior to the Great Recession.

 

 

 

 

For a better sense of how these declines figure into a larger historical context, here’s a long-term view of secular bull and bear markets in the S&P Composite since 1871.