Equity indexes initially popped after yesterday's Federal Reserve announcement but ended the day essentially unchanged.
The S&P 500 finished the day at 1685.73, giving up just 0.23 points. It had climbed to 1698.43 after the central bank's release on interest rates and monetary policy but quickly gave up gains. Resistance is at 1699 held and support at 1670.
The Nasdaq 100 was up almost 5 points to finish at 3090.18. It followed a similar pattern, reaching a 13-year high of 3110.01 and then dropping. It has support at 3000. (When equity indexes are at highs, further resistance levels are obviously projections not based on previous trading patterns, so I will refrain from listing them.)
The Russell 2000 was up 1.7 points to 1045.26. The small-cap index is just off of last week's highs. It has some resistance at 1057 and support at 1000.
The CBOE Volatility Index was up 0.06 poitns to 13.45. It dipped to 12.94 as the S&P 500 peaked but remains much higher than the SPX's actual volatility. The two indexes usually move inversely.
The VIX futures were all lower. The August futures lost 0.40 points to close at 13.90, and the September futures were down 0.30 points to finish at 15.40. The iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Note (:VXX), which comprises those two nearest-month futures, was down another 2.18 percent to $15.06, yet another record low.
Confusion persists about the VXX. It is an instrument that can go to 0, and that is why it keeps getting reverse splits. As someone said recently, if you don't know what contango is, you really shouldn't be trading the VXX.
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