S&P 500 little changed 0.02% — Market Pulse · Sep 24, 2026

U.S. equities finished mixed on Sept. 24, but the calm close did not tell the full story. The S&P 500 ended at 7704.13, down 1.90 points, or 0.02%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 3.33 points to 26939.37. The Dow fell 161.61 points to 51349.98, and the Russell 2000 slipped 3.09 points to 2835.57.

Key Takeaways

• S&P 500 closed little changed 0.02% at 7,704.13.
• Market breadth finished with 176 advancers, 326 decliners, and a 0.540 advance/decline ratio.
• Communication Services led sectors at +1.27%, while Materials lagged at -1.19%.
• VIX ended at 15.67 in the latest five-session lookback.
• SPY’s first resistance is 771.79 and first support is 765.29.

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Market Breadth: Indexes were flat, but weak participation and rising volatility kept the tone cautious

Metric	Sep 17	Sep 18	Sep 21	Sep 23	Sep 24
Advance/Decline Ratio	1.451	0.451	1.397	0.429	0.540
Advances	296	156	292	18	176
Declines	204	346	209	42	326
Advancing Volume	68.8%	30.3%	70.6%	11.1%	41.8%
Stocks Near 52-Week Highs	10	4	7	7	7
Stocks Near 52-Week Lows	15	25	11	21	35
% Above 20-Day MA	22.1%	20.3%	26.6%	5.6%	5.6%
% Above 50-Day MA	32.0%	29.2%	31.2%	5.6%	5.0%
% Above 200-Day MA	53.9%	52.9%	52.7%	6.8%	7.0%

Market internals stayed soft. Advancers trailed decliners by 176 to 326, for an advance-decline ratio of 0.54, while advancing volume was 41.76%. Participation remained especially thin beneath the surface, with just 5.57% of stocks above their 20-day moving average, 4.97% above their 50-day, and 6.96% above their 200-day. That follows the sharp deterioration seen on Sept. 23, when advancing volume fell to 11.1%.

Explore the full dashboard: Market breadth.

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Market Performance: Major Indexes

Index	Close	Change	% Change
S&P 500	7,704.13	-1.90	-0.02%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	51,349.98	-161.61	-0.31%
Nasdaq Composite	26,939.37	3.33	+0.01%
Russell 2000	2,835.57	-3.09	-0.11%

Five-session context:

Index	Sep 17	Sep 18	Sep 21	Sep 23	Sep 24
S&P 500	+1.14%	+0.17%	+1.49%	-0.76%	-0.02%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	+0.61%	-0.18%	+0.71%	-1.03%	-0.31%
Nasdaq Composite	+1.69%	+0.39%	+2.26%	-0.69%	+0.01%
Russell 2000	+0.55%	-0.50%	+0.52%	-1.28%	-0.11%

The major indexes were little changed on the day, but the five-session pattern still shows a market that surged into Sept. 21 and then lost momentum. Over the last five sessions, the S&P 500 moved from 7637.76 to 7704.13, and the Nasdaq Composite from 26418.30 to 26939.37. The Dow, by contrast, faded from 51778.04 to 51349.98, and the Russell 2000 moved from 2874.63 to 2835.57.

Explore the full dashboard: Market snapshot.

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Sector View: Leaders and Laggards

• Leaders: Communication Services (XLC +1.27%), Health Care (XLV +0.63%), Energy (XLE +0.37%), Financials (XLF -0.02%), Consumer Discretionary (XLY -0.30%)
• Laggards: Materials (XLB -1.19%), Utilities (XLU -0.98%), Consumer Staples (XLP -0.89%), Industrials (XLI -0.75%), Real Estate (XLRE -0.45%)

Leadership was narrow. Communication Services led with XLC up 1.27%, followed by Health Care at 0.63% and Energy at 0.37%. On the downside, Materials fell 1.19%, Utilities lost 0.98%, and Consumer Staples dropped 0.89%. Financials were nearly unchanged at -0.02%, which fit the mixed index action but did little to offset weaker groups.

Explore the full dashboard: Sector performance.

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Volatility: VIX and ETF Implied Volatility

Metric	Sep 17	Sep 18	Sep 21	Sep 23	Sep 24
VIX Level	15.44	14.81	14.87	15.18	15.67

• SPY IV: 10.98% (Low)
• QQQ IV: 16.12% (Normal)
• IWM IV: 16.68% (Normal)
• DIA IV: 12.52% (Low)

Volatility firmed even as the headline index moves stayed small. The VIX closed at 15.67, up from 15.18 on Sept. 23 and 14.87 on Sept. 21. Options pricing still looked contained in the major ETFs, with SPY implied volatility at 10.98% and DIA at 12.52%, both labeled Low, while QQQ at 16.12% and IWM at 16.68% were labeled Normal.

Explore the full dashboard: Volatility.

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Headlines Moving Markets

The day’s news flow centered on rates, yields, and geopolitics. Ranked catalysts highlighted comments from Philadelphia Fed’s Anna Paulson that modest rate moves may still be needed, and from New York Fed’s Williams that another hike by year-end is reasonable. Reuters coverage also pointed to investors focusing on the US-Iran war, while other headlines cited higher oil prices and Treasury yields. An official GDP release was also on the calendar.

• S&P 500 ends marginally lower as investors focus on US-Iran war - Reuters
• Philadelphia Fed’s Anna Paulson says ‘modest’ rate moves likely ahead to tame inflation
• New York Fed’s Williams says it’s ‘reasonable’ to expect another rate hike by year-end
• History shows financial calamities occur when rates rise rapidly like this: ‘Something always breaks’
• Wall Street ends down as oil prices, Treasury yields rise - Reuters
• US stocks fall as 10-year Treasury yield hits highest since 2007 - Reuters
• Dollar jumps to near two-month high on Fed outlook, inflation concern - Reuters
• As bond rout worsens, a trade Wall Street uses to replace them booms in popularity
• Our top 10 things to watch in the stock market Thursday
• Netanyahu’s fleeting visit to New York mirrors strained US ties - Reuters
• Houthis say they attacked Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu - Reuters
• UK stocks fall as lack of progress in US-Iran talks lifts oil prices - Reuters

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Technical Snapshot (SPY)

Level	Sep 17	Sep 18	Sep 21	Sep 23	Sep 24
20-day SMA	762.74	762.42	762.46	763.54	763.74
50-day SMA	757.27	757.61	757.85	758.78	759.14
200-day SMA	711.57	712.00	712.44	713.42	713.88

Near-term pivot structure, based on 2026-09-23:

• Resistance: 771.79 (R1), then 775.65 (R2)
• Pivot: 769.15
• Support: 765.29 (S1), then 762.65 (S2)

For SPY, the reference pivot was 769.15, with resistance at 771.79 and 775.65, and support at 765.29 and 762.65. Trend measures were still constructive at the index ETF level, with the SPY 20-day SMA at 763.74, the 50-day at 759.14, and the 200-day at 713.88. Still, the weak breadth data suggests fewer stocks are participating than the index level alone implies.

Explore the full dashboard: Support & Resistance levels.

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What to Watch Next

• Breadth first. Watch whether advancing volume can improve from 41.76% after the prior session’s 11.1% washout.
• SPY around 769.15, with 771.79 and 775.65 above, 765.29 and 762.65 below.
• The VIX trend after its move from 14.87 on Sept. 21 to 15.67 on Sept. 24.
• Flow backdrop: options whale sentiment was bullish overall, with $163,019,262 in call premium versus $105,799,341 in put premium, but stock whale sentiment was bearish with net value of -$2,536,579,542.66.
• Sector follow-through, especially whether XLC at 113.99 can extend its 1.27% gain while XLB at 49.68 and XLU at 39.36 stabilize.

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Bottom Line

Sept. 24 was a flat session on the surface, but the underlying picture remained fragile. Narrow leadership, low participation, and a higher VIX suggest investors were still weighing rates, yields, and geopolitical risk even as the S&P 500 barely moved.

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Market Pulse provides daily analysis of S&P 500 market breadth, sector rotation, and volatility signals to help investors understand what’s happening beneath the surface. Data sourced from our real-time market breadth collectors. For personalized planning, explore our retirement calculators, investment tools, and FIRE planning resources.

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