S&P 500 Snapshot: Selling the Start of the Q4 Earnings Season

With Q4 earnings season ready to shift into high gear, the US indexes shifted into retreat. The S&P 500 opened fractionally lower, rose to its 0.06% intraday high an hour later. It then began a selloff that gradually accelerated to a -1.46% intraday low late in the day. Some buying the dip (or short covering) trimmed the closing loss to 1.26%, the worst daily close since the -1.32% decline on November 7th. Here is a 5-minute look at today with a bit of Friday for context.     The yield on the 10-year note dropped 4 bps to 284%, which is 20 bps below the interim high at the end of 2014. Volume on today's selling was 17% above the 50-day moving average. The index is about 18 points above its 50-day price moving average.     The S&P 500 is now down 1.58% since its all-time high at the end of 2014. Here is a longer perspective, starting with the all-time high prior to the Great Recession.   Click for a larger image     Click for a larger image   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.