The S&P 500 index and other US indices are struggling this Tuesday, and have all opened lower ahead of the FOMC meeting. It was a mixed grill for the various indices listed on the S&P 500, with the energy index gaining some ground thanks to higher oil prices. The Financials index is also up 0.32%, but these gains appeared to be offset by losses in the Materials Index (-0.46%) and the Utilities index (- 0.31%).
Losses on the S&P 500 index have been limited by stellar Consumer Confidence Index data. The Conference Board reports a rise in consumer confidence to 121.7, above the consensus number (113.1) and previous figure (109.0). The S&P 500 currently trades 0.19% lower.
Today’s lower open comes from a retest of 4194.2 (ATH at 23 April), above which bulls failed to re-establish a continuation towards 4200. 4200 remains the immediate target (psychological resistance), above which 4225 and 4250 have been identified by Credit Suisse’s analysts as potential upside targets. Our chart identifies 4301.0 as an additional target at the 200% Fibonacci extension level.
On the flip side, the downside could lead towards the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of the C-D wave at 4062.8, with 4022.1 and 3950.1 serving as additional targets to the south. This corrective move would depend on the bears taking out the 4113.2 price level (23.6% Fibonacci retracement) on the way south.