S&P 500 Blasts Above 50-Day Moving Average in Best Week of 2019

(Bloomberg) -- The S&P 500 Index is on pace to post its biggest weekly gain since November 2018, trading above its 50-day moving average for the first time since last month’s sell-off.

A gain of as much as 1.2% on Friday pushed the benchmark for U.S. equities to 2,876. It’s up more than 4% this week. Stocks have rebounded from last month’s rout as traders increase bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year to shore up the economy, boosting the outlook for corporate profits. Friday’s gain was also stoked by the Trump administration decision to delay tariffs on some Chinese goods.

Last month’s 6.6% plunge pushed the S&P 500 below its 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages for the first time since stocks recovered from a late-2018 rout. The average closing prices are closely watched technical indicators used to analyze historical trends and identify possible inflection points.

To contact the reporter on this story: Richard Richtmyer in New York at rrichtmyer@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Courtney Dentch at cdentch1@bloomberg.net, Brendan Walsh

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