
Stocks were enjoying a bounce Wednesday afternoon, providing some breathing room for the S&P 500 after it came close to entering its second market correction of 2022.
The large-cap benchmark was up less than 1% to trade near 4,210 in early afternoon activity, after ending Tuesday at 4,175.20 in a tech-led selloff that dragged it down by 2.8%. Stocks have seen volatile day-to-day and intraday swings in recent sessions.
Dow Jones Market Data
A close at or below 4,168.44 would see the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.21%
enter a correction, according to Dow Jones Market Data. A correction is defined as a pullback of at least 10% — but nor more than 20% — from a recent peak. A correction is exited after rise of at least 10% from a correction low.
The S&P 500 previously suffered a correction on Feb. 22, when it closed at 4,304.76, down 10.25% from its early January record close. Stocks extended a slide in early March as investors reacted to Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, which sent oil prices soaring to nearly 14-year highs and stoked geopolitical anxiety.
A closing low of 4,170.70 on March 8 marked the bottom of that move. The S&P 500 exited the correction on March 29, when it finished at 4,631.60, up 11.05% from the March 8 closing low.
Exits from correction territory have tended to see the index continue to gain ground in subsequent weeks and months, though not always.
See: S&P 500 exits correction: Here’s what history says happens next to the U.S. stock-market benchmark
It has been 20 trading days since the S&P 500 exited its previous correction. While it doesn’t appear likely at the moment, a fall into correction…
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