As stocks on Friday meandered to another month of losses, investors were especially focused on the S&P 500 Index and whether the broad market gauge would close above or below its November lows, with a finish above 740 to 750 seen as a victory of sorts.
"Only on a two-day close below 740 will I run for the hills. A close over 740 today would be considered a successful test of the November 2008 low," said Elliot Spar, market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus.
The S&P closed at 752.44 on Nov. 20, though the benchmark on Monday undercut that prior bear-market low.
"Hopefully we can get back to 800 on the S&P, but first we have to get past resistance at 752. If we can close above that one resistance level I think it would be a mild positive," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC.
On Friday, financials led the declines, with Citigroup Inc. (C) down 39% on news the U.S. government was hiking its stake in the battered bank. .
Energy shares led sector gains and helped some in offsetting the damage that had the S&P falling to a 12-year low before bouncing back.
At 3:30 p.m. Eastern, the S&P 500 (SPX) was down 13.48 points to 739.35, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was off 82.75 points to 7,099.33.
The technology laden Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) fell 3.94 points to 1,387.53.
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