Any speculator that tried to pick the top in the S&P 500 index and was marked on Friday’s close (4505.50) did have some opportunity to cover at a profit, but not too much.
After a higher open on Sunday night, the index did find sellers below the close until just after 11:00 PM EST, when it bottomed at 4500.75 and began to rebound. Once it regained the close, it never went back below and was firmly in the green by the open of the regular session.
The brief decline off the open could not reach the top of Friday’s range (4510), only reaching 4510.50 and then embarked on yet another impressive rally. Once the index cleared the 4520 area, there were no sellers to be found until the index finally peaked at 4534.50.
A minor round of profit-taking took the index off the highs for the session, but still improved on its all-time closing high by 19.50 handles to close at 4525.
The top component in the index was the biggest gainer Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). The issue added $4.52 or 3% to make a new all-time closing high at $153.16. That percentage gain was much higher than the 0.50% gain for the entire index. High expectations for shipments of the new iPhone was one of the catalysts for the rally.
Concern over the next interest rate hike coming later rather than sooner, took its toll on many of the financials. As a result, JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), after making a new high for the recent rebound, sharply reversed course and was the biggest loser of the top components. For the session, the issue swooned $2.61 or 1.6% to close at $160.44.
PreMarket Prep Stock Of The Day: Affirm Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AFRM)
A sympathy play off the Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) purchase of Afterpay earlier this month, took its time to reward investors, but it did in a big way in Monday’s session.
