Traders are watching a key support level for the S & P 500 where it could see some buying — without which, there could be trouble ahead. The broad market index is fast approaching its 200-day moving average, which is at 6,582. The technical indicator, which averages the closing price over the last 200 days, shows whether the underlying long-term trend in an asset or index is positive or negative. That support level is now just 2% below where the S & P 500 closed Friday, at 6,740.02. On Monday, the benchmark was last down 0.5%, but it fell as much as 1.5% at its session low. “We should see buyers step in again at those levels,” Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, told CNBC. “If it gets worse, then we’re talking 10% correction.” The S & P 500 has held above its 200-day moving average for the better part of a year, with traders stepping in to buy whenever there was a pullback on hopes that fiscal stimulus, easier monetary policy and productivity gains from artificial intelligence will keep the bull case for equities intact. Even the more recent concerns around AI disruption , mounting pressure in private credit and higher inflation have done little to knock the broader index from its holding pattern, which it’s been in since late last year. But with the S & P 500 selling into the weekend in the midst of the U.S.-Iran war, and opening lower on Monday as oil spikes above $100 a barrel , traders now worry the technical support will finally give way. If traders don’t step in this time, that suggests the index could drop even further. A 10% correction would place the S & P 500 back at 6,066.018, where it was last June. “We’ll cross that road when we get to it,” Woods said. “But right now, watch the 200-day moving average.” — CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this report.
