For the third straight day the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index suffered a late-day drop that dragged it down from record-setting territory, postponing a celebration of a new closing record.
Every day this week the stock gauge has topped its Jan. 15 record close of 1848.38 during the trading day, only to reverse course and fall shy of a new record.
On Wednesday, it rose as high as 1852.65, before closing up just 0.04 points to 1845.16.
"We expected the 1850 area to be a speed bump," says Todd Salamone, senior VP at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
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The 1850 level is acting like a ceiling. It's roughly where the S&P 500 finished 2013, and marks a "break-even point" and selling trigger for investors who got spooked by the recent 5.8% pullback.
Investors often sell when they get their money back after a losing skid. Similarly, investors who trade based on stock chart patterns are often hesitant to buy until they see the S&P 500 break out decisively into record territory.
The last-hour selling has become a trend in 2014. Data from Bespoke Investment Group show that 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. is the only hour of the day with an average loss (-0.06%) this year. But don't fret. Be patient, says Salamone.
"It's more of a sign of indecision and hesitancy and a speed bump and not a bearish omen," he says.
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