S&P 500 technical analysis: SPX finds resistance near 3,100, re-tests 200-day SMA

• S&P 500 opened sharply higher but started to retrace its gains.
• Former support at 3,100 now aligns as a critical resistance.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) lost 5.89% on Thursday and dropped below 3,000 points for the first time in June before closing at 3,002 points. Although the SPX staged a decisive rebound and opened the day more than 2.5% higher on Friday, it struggled to preserve its momentum and pulled away from session highs in the last hour. As of writing, the index was up only 0.35% on the day at 3,013.

S&P 500 technical outlook

On the downside, 3,000 (psychological level/200-day SMA) aligns as a key support. A daily/weekly close below that level could force the index to extend its slide toward $2,940 (100-day SMA/Fibonacci 61.8% retracement of the sharp drop witnessed in March).

On the other hand, $3,100 (Fibonacci 78.6% retracement of the sharp drop witnessed in March) seems to be making it difficult for the SPX to stage a deeper recovery. Ahead of that level, the 20-day SMA could act as an interim resistance at 3,055.

Additional technical levels