Improved consumer sentiment and an upbeat Conference Board read on leading indicators outweighed another downward revision to GDP and a weaker Chicago Fed National Activity Index -- so says the S&P 500, which gained 0.83% at the close. Year-to-date the index is now down a fractional 0.29%, although it's still 8.04% below the April 29th interim high. But there are still five trading days left in 2011. Santa has been working his magic on the market, and the final week of the year may yet see a new interim high for 2011. The next step will be to break above the 200-day moving average, above 5 points above today's close.
From an intermediate perspective, the index is 85.4% above the March 2009 closing low and 19.9% below the nominal all-time high of October 2007.
Below are two charts of the index, with and without the 50 and 200-day moving averages.