Equity indexes advanced yesterday, but only after giving up much of the session's gains in the last hour trading. The CBOE Volatility Index was down modestly, though most of its futures were higher.

The S&P 500 rose 6.05 points to 1654.41. It was higher all day, climbing to 1662 an hour before the bell, but slipped into the close. Resistance is at 1687 and support at 1642.

The Nasdaq 100 was up 17.01 points to 3011.83 after entering the last hour above 3025. Resistance is at 3053 and support at 2980.

The Russell 2000 closed higher by 7.47 points at 994.43. The small-cap index retained more of its gains than its peers on a percentage basis. Resistance is at 1008 and support at 974.

The VIX was down 0.30 points, or 2.02 percent, to 14.53. It almost broke 15 twice before lunch, pushing higher even as the S&P 500 did the same, but then slipped to 14.27. The volatility index and the SPX typically move inversely.

The VIX futures were almost all higher. The June contracts were flat at 15.40, but the July futures gained 0.10 points to close at 16.50. That had the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Note (:VXX) down just 0.01 points to 18.53.

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