- The S&P 500 stock index fell 0.10% daily in a session with little volume.
- Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said the monetary authority expects to continue cutting interest rates in 2025.
- Michelle Bowman, member of the FOMC, highlighted that inflation risks remain high, stalling the progress achieved.
The S&P 500 marked a day’s high of 5,910, where it attracted timid sellers that took the index to a day’s low of 5,884. At the time of writing, the S&P 500 is trading above 5,906, down marginally 0.10% today.
Fed members’ speeches capture investors’ attention
Today’s day presents little movement due to the honorary funeral of former President Jimmy Carter. On the other hand, members of the Federal Reserve have been very active in making their positions on monetary policy known.
Patrick Harker, president of the Philadelphia Fed, stressed that the central bank hopes to continue lowering interest rates although it remains dependent on economic data. At the same time, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Susan Collins, indicated that she was more cautious when mentioning that the current outlook requires a gradual and patient approach to carrying out a rate cut.
Along the same lines, Michelle Bowman, member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), highlighted that inflation is still high and with upward risks, so progress has stalled.
Investors will turn their attention to Non-Farm Payrolls tomorrow. The consensus expects them to be 160,000 in December compared to the 227,000 reached the previous month.
Levels to consider in the S&P 500
The S&P 500 reacted higher at short-term support at 5,870, given by the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement. The next major support is at 5,799, the December 20 pivot point. The next resistance is at 6,021, high of December 27, 2024.
S&P 500 4-hour chart
S&P 500 FAQs
The S&P 500 is a widely followed stock index that measures the performance of 500 public companies and is considered a broad measure of the U.S. stock market. The influence of each company in the calculation of the index is weighted based on market capitalization. This is calculated by multiplying the number of listed shares of the company by the share price. The S&P 500 Index has achieved impressive returns: $1.00 invested in 1970 would have produced a return of almost $192.00 in 2022. The average annual return since its inception in 1957 has been 11.9%.
Companies are selected by committee, unlike other indices where they are included based on established standards. Still, they must meet certain eligibility criteria, the most important of which is market capitalization, which must be equal to or greater than $12.7 billion. Other criteria are liquidity, domicile, market capitalization, sector, financial viability, listing time, and representation of the sectors of the United States economy. The nine largest companies in the index represent 27.8% of the index’s market capitalization.
There are several ways to trade the S&P 500. Most retail brokers and spread betting platforms allow traders to use Contracts for Difference (CFDs) to place bets on price direction. In addition, you can buy index funds, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the price of the S&P 500. The most liquid of the ETFs is the London Stock Exchange ETF. The most liquid of the ETFs is State Street Corporation’s SPY. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) offers futures contracts on the index and the Chicago Board of Options (CMOE) offers options, as well as ETFs, inverse ETFs, and leveraged ETFs.
There are many factors that drive the S&P 500, but primarily it is the aggregate performance of its component companies, revealed in their quarterly and annual earnings reports. US and global macroeconomic data also contribute, influencing investor sentiment, which if positive, drives earnings. The level of interest rates, set by the Federal Reserve (Fed), also influences the S&P 500, as it affects the cost of credit, on which many companies largely depend. Therefore, inflation can be a determining factor, as well as other parameters that influence the decisions of the Federal Reserve.
Source: Fx Street

I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.