Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 gained more than 20% for the second year in a row in 2024, the first time that's happened since the late 1990s.
- The index has carved out a head and shoulders pattern, a classic chart formation that indicates a potential market top.
- Investors should watch major support levels on the S&P 500's chart around 5,875, 5,670, and 5,445 while also monitoring key overhead areas near 6,090 and 6,290.
The S&P 500 (SPX) enters 2025 🐈on its best two-year run since the late 1990s.
The 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:large-cap index rose 23% gain last year after surging 24% in 2023, as the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:artificial intelligence (AI) boom and first interest rate c𒐪uts since 2020 helped drive stocks higher.
While the AI narrative and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:expected rate cuts will likely continue to support large-cap stocks over the next 12 months, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:iᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚnvestors will also be closely watching the impact of the incoming Trump administration’s policies, particularly in relation to tariffs, w𓃲hile🦩 also monitoring geopolitical tensions in Russia and the Middle East.
The S&P 500, which closed out 2024 on a four-session losing streak, was up 0.5% at 5,910 in ꧅the opening minutes of trading Thursday.
Below, we take a closer look at the S&P 500’s chart and identify important 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:technical levels that investors may be watching 𝐆as the first quarter gets underway.
Head and Shoulders Pattern Emerges
Since early November, the S&P 500 has formed a peak, a higher peak, and then a lower peak, carving out a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:head and shoulders pattern, a classic chart formation that ♏indicates a pཧotential market top.
Moreover, the index fell below the closely watched 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:50-day moving average last week, though recent selling has occurred on lower-than-average end-of-year trading volume.
Let’s take a closer look at three major levels where the S&P 500 could encounter support during 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:pullbacks and also point out several key overhead areas to monitor if the index resumes its longer-term uptre♊nd.
Major Support Levels to Watch
Firstly, it’s worth keeping an eye on the 5,875 level. This location on the chart could provide support near the head and shoulders’ neckline that joins the October peak with trou🥀ghs that formed in November and Decem𓃲ber.
A decisive 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:breakdown below this area would confirm the head and shoulders top and could see a decline to the next lower support level around 5,670. Investors who trade the index may look for buying opportunities in this region near the prominent July 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:swing high and early-October low.
Further downside opens the door for a retest of the 5,445 level, a location likely to attract support near a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:trendline that links a range of similar cha🦹rt points between June and September.
Key Overhead Areas to Monitor
If the S&P 500 resumes its longer-term uptrend, investors should initially monitor the 6,090 area. This level may may provide overhead 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:resistance near the upper range of a week-long 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:consolidation period that formed shortly after the index reached its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:all-time high (ATH) in early December.
To forecast a bullish 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:price target above the ATH, investors can apply the bars-pattern tool. This technique involves extracting the price bars that comprise the post-election rally from eaꦆrly November to early December and repositioning them at the head-and-shoulders’ neckline, which forecasts a target of around 6,290🌞.
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