S&P 500 recovers back to $4,300 for Thursday, but September still sees red

• The S&P 500 rose on Thursday alongside the other major US indices as equities recover from recent losses.
• Equities have struggled in September, and the month is set to be the worst-performing of the year for stocks.
• Upcoming US PCE inflation figures could see volatility jump as equity traders fear Fed moves.

The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 major equity index eked out a reasonable gain on Thursday, closing up almost 0.60% just shy of $4,300.00.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) also finished in the green, up 116 points on Thursday to end the day at $33,666.34 (0.35%); The Nasdaq Composite also beat the bids on Thursday, climbing over 0.80% to close at $13,201.28.

A recovery in US equities was a welcome change of pace for investors on Thursday; the S&P has dropped rapidly in recent weeks, and is currently down over 5.0% from September's highs near $4,540.00.

September is on pace to be the year's single worst-performing month for equities, with the majority of indexes broadly off of the summer highs.

Overboiling selling pressure eased off on Thursday alongside a reprieve for US Treasury yields, giving equities a chance to rebound heading into Friday's bumper US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index data release.

On the docket: US PCE inflation measure to close out trading week

Recession worries and investors rattled by a possible US government shutdown over partisan grandstanding have weighed heavily on equities. US yields initially hit a fresh 15-year high on Thursday after US data showed better-than-expected Initial Jobless Claims.

US PCE inflation is broadly expected to hold steady at 0.2% for the month of August.

S&P 500 technical outlook

The S&P 500 has fallen away from the 34-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) in the last few weeks' fast drop from the month's peak near $4,540.00. The 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) is sitting just north of the $4,200.00 level.

Despite Thursday's rebound, the S&P is still in the red for the week which started near $4,325.00, and markets will be looking to firm up a bullish rally into the year's top at $4,600.00.

On the short side, there's little in the way of technical support beyond the 200-day SMA, and the bottom opens up towards the last major swing low at March's bottom at the $3,800.00 handle.

S&P 500 daily chart

S&P 500 technical levels