The selloff in the benchmark S&P 500 was a steady downward slope to the second worst close of 2012, a loss for the day of 2.23%, just a few basis points from the 2.46% selloff on June 1st. What's to blame? Take your pick: A week unemployment claims report, a nasty Philly Fed Business Outlook Survey, slowing worldwide manufacturing growth and rumors of bank rating downgrades.
The index is now up 5.40% for 2012, which is 6.59% off the interim closing high of April 2nd.
From an intermediate perspective, the S&P 500 is 95.9% above the March 2009 closing low and 15.3% below the nominal all-time high of October 2007.
First a 5-minute snapshot of today's steady downward slope:
Below are two charts of the index, with and without the 50 and 200-day moving averages.
For a better sense of how these declines figure into a larger historical context, here's a long-term view of secular bull and bear markets in the S&P Composite since 1871.
These charts are not intended as a forecast but rather as a way to study the current market in relation to historic market cycles.
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