Last Trading Day of 2022 Reminiscent of Entire Year

Last Trading Day of 2022 Reminiscent of Entire Year

Disappointing news for traders as the S&P 500 futures saw a significant drop at the opening bell today, following promising signs of a potential market uptick yesterday. Overnight, most of the gains across the indices were retraced, leaving the market down 30 points at the start of the day.

Traders were on edge as economic news arrived, causing the first fifteen minutes of market opening to be volatile and indecisive.

Despite the release of better-than-expected numbers in the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), the market saw a lack of enthusiasm, failing to rally on the positive news. The actual PMI of 44.9 came in higher than the predicted 40.5, but the market’s response was underwhelming. However, this lack of a sell-off could be a positive sign for the market’s direction moving forward.

For most of the trading session, after the economic release was out of the way, price action across the market moved in a slow and choppy fashion. The market traded sideways for most of the day before ultimately trickling lower into power hour.

In a surprising turn of events, the market saw a sudden surge in the final hour of the trading year 2022. Prices jumped from the day’s low of approximately 3,820 to a new high of 3,860. While this last-minute rally fell short of turning the S&P positive for the day, it was a noteworthy moment in an otherwise slow and choppy market. 

2023 levels to watch

This close left several key targets on the horizon for the coming year. The most significant levels to watch are the psychological threshold of 3,800 on the downside and the 21-day exponential moving average (EMA) at 3,900 on the upside. It is possible that the market may remain range-bound between these two levels, but a break of either could trigger the first significant move of the new year. Stay tuned to see how the market develops in the coming days and weeks.

2008 vibes

Today marks the worst performance in the S&P 500 since the market crash of 2008, with a final close that brings this year’s total loss to a staggering 19.4%. In 2008, the market fell a staggering 38%. It’s been a tough year for traders, but with the close of today’s session, we can look forward to the new year and the potential for a market turnaround.

3-day weekend for the win

As the year draws to a close, it’s time to take a well-deserved break and celebrate the new year. The extended weekend gives traders an extra day to rest, recharge, and prepare for a long and successful trading year ahead. Make the most of this time off and come back ready to tackle the market in the coming weeks and months.

First week of 2023 full of economic catalysts 

Despite being a short week, the start of the new year will be packed with important economic events. Tuesday begins with the release of the S&P U.S. manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), followed by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Wednesday and a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting later that day. Thursday sees the release of the usual jobless claims and the S&P U.S. services PMI, and the week wraps up on Friday with the Non-Farm payroll (NFP) report. Keep an eye on these key events, as they could have a significant impact on the markets in the first week of 2023.

Last rally of the year was a dud

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were negative to close the session. The S&P 500 closed down 0.27%, losing 10 points, while the Nasdaq closed down 0.14%, declining 14 points. The Dow Jones futures followed, closing down 0.26%, dropping 85 points.