You might not think it looking at the final standing of the major indices, but today was quite a win for the bulls, technically speaking. The S&P 500 fell below its 50-day moving average (6,669.00) but once again found support and managed to close above that key technical level, just as it has time and again since this remarkable rally began in April.

It was looking dicey during the morning session, with session lows reached just after 12:00 p.m. ET. At that point, the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 were down 0.9%, 2.1%, and 1.3%, respectively, undercut yet again by losses in the mega-cap stocks and the growth stocks and some concerns about an economic slowdown.

The latter was pinned on one of the lowest readings ever for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index and copious reports about hundreds of flight cancellations due to the government shutdown.

The buy-the-dip crowd started to re-emerge early in the afternoon session, however, and retook control of the tape, helping many stocks pare larger losses and other stocks extend their gains.

Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended the day higher, led by the energy (+1.6%), utilities (+1.4%), materials (+1.3%), real estate (+1.3%), and consumer staples (+1.3%) sectors. The communication services (-0.8%) and information technology (-0.3%) sectors were the two losers, but both finished well off their lows.

The S&P 500 eventually reclaimed a posture above the 6,669.00 level and got an added boost on reports that the Democrats will vote to reopen the government if Republicans agree to a one-year extension of the Obamacare subsidies.

The positive buzz around that possibility didn't last long. CNBC soon reported that the Democrats' offer is likely to be rejected by the Republicans, who want the government reopened first before talks on extending the Obamacare subsidies are held.

Strikingly, this report didn't unnerve the market, which not only finished higher after the report but, in fact, finished at its highs for the day. We're not sure if that means participants are thinking there could be some kind of deal struck over the weekend or if the positive finish was just a continuation of the exciting technical rebound effort.

Whatever the case may have been, it was an uplifting finish for the bulls at the end of an arduous week that was highlighted by a number of outsized losses in the growth stock and AI universe following earnings reports. Stocks like Take-Two (TTWO 232.00, -20.40, -8.08%), The Trade Desk (TTD 43.00, -2.90, -6.31%), and Microchip (MCHP 56.28, -3.07, -5.17%) felt that pinch today. Tesla (TSLA 429.52, -16.39, -3.68%) did, too, after 75% of shareholders approved a pay package for Elon Musk that could be worth possibly as much as $1 trillion if various benchmarks are met.

To be sure, there were outsized gains registered in some corners as well, yet there was a clear leadership void among the mega-cap stocks and growth stocks that weighed on the indices and investor sentiment. NVIDIA (NVDA 188.15, +0.07, +0.04%), which battled back from a near 5.0% decline today that briefly took it below its 50-day moving average (183.43), declined 7.1% this week. Microsoft (MSFT 496.82, -0.28, -0.06%) declined 4.1% this week and has an eight-session losing streak.

The Vanguard Mega-Cap Growth ETF declined 3.1% this week, while the Russell 3000 Growth Index dropped 3.3%. In comparison, the Russell 3000 Value Index fell just 0.4% this week, while the equal-weighted S&P 500 shed just 0.2%.

• Nasdaq Composite: +19.1% YTD
• S&P 500: +14.4% YTD
• DJIA: +10.5% YTD
• Russell 2000: +9.1% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• The preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment reading for November fell to 50.3 (Briefing.com consensus: 54.0) from the final reading of 53.6 for October. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 71.8.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the decline in sentiment was widespread across the population, with one notable exception: consumers within the largest tercile of stock holdings.
• Consumer credit increased by $13.1 billion in September (Briefing.com consensus: $8.0 billion) following an upwardly revised $3.1 billion increase (from $0.4 billion) in August.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the expansion in consumer credit in September was driven largely by nonrevolving credit.