Equity indexes closed slightly higher even though the S&P 500 spent most of yesterday in the red, leaving the CBOE Volatility Index near session lows.
The S&P 500 rose 0.57 points to 1868.20, essentially its session high. The benchmark index had dipped to 1854.38 in the morning, just above its 20-day moving average. It has resistance at 1883 and support at 1840.
The Nasdaq 100 gained 15.56 points to 3707.06. It fell to 3661.87 in the morning but, unlike the SPX spent most of the day in positive territory. Resistance is at 3738 and support at 3650.
The Russell 2000 climbed 4.32 points to 1191.37. It too bounced off its 20-day moving average after touching 1177.48 in the morning. The small-cap index has resistance at 1212 and support at 1175.
The VIX fell 0.33 points, or 2.23 percent, to 14.47. That was just above its low of the day, which that came at the closing bell. The volatility index reached 15.64 in the morning and remains substantially higher than the actual volatility of the S&P 500, whose 20-day reading fell to 8 percent yesterday.
The VIX futures were mixed. The March contracts, which have less than a week to trade, finished at 15.25 as the April futures closed at 15.95. That left the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Note (:VXX) down fractionally at $44.31.
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