For the third day in a row, the S&P 500 stalled after rallying to about 5450.
The market benchmark was up 1.3% to 5444 after trading as high as 5455.97. The S&P 500 could exit correction territory if it closes at 5481.05. The index entered correction in March after falling 10% from its Feb. 19 record close. At 5481.05, it would mark a 10% rise from its recent low, putting the index out of correction.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.8% to 17,000. The index is in a bear market, meaning it needs to rally 20% from a recent low to enter a new bull market. The current level to watch is 18,321.50.
The Dow was up 230 points, or 0.6%, to 39,838.14. It would exit correction at 41,410.15.
Frank Cappelleri, founder of technical analysis firm CappThesis, told Barron’s that the S&P 500 is acting as well as one could hope if it’s going to make a run back to new highs. He says the index is forming a constructive bullish pattern since its lows earlier this month, but the 5500 level has formed as a key level of resistance to watch.
“That 5500 zone was an area where the index bounced at in mid-March, and then broke below aggressively a few weeks later,” Cappelleri says. “It also lines up as a potential breakout zone on the short-term chart.”
He’ll be watching how some of the biggest growth stocks react to earnings, given they’ve been leading the rally.
“That’ll likely remain a key theme heading into May, as well,” Cappelleri says.