The markets had much to consider this past week, most notably Fed Chair Yellen's semi-annual congressional testimony on Tuesday and Thursday and today's updates on Consumer Sentiment and GDP.
The S&P 500 showed relatively little reaction to any of this week's economic events, trading within a microscopic 0.79% range from its intraday low on Monday to its intraday high on Wednesday (which was also its record high).
Friday's -0.30% closing loss trimmed the February monthly gain to a whopping 5.49%, the biggest monthly gain since October of 2011, 40 months ago, when the index rose 10.77%.
Here is a 15-minute chart of the last five sessions.
Here's a monthly chart of the index highlighting the February gain and the October 2011 liftoff.
A Perspective on Drawdowns
Here's a snapshot of selloffs since the 2009 trough.
For a longer-term perspective, here is a pair of charts based on daily closes starting with the all-time high prior to the Great Recession.
