Based on the late-day price action on Thursday in the S&P 500 index futures, the index’s rally was losing some steam. Wrong.
The after-hours and premarket buyers had it right as the index bottomed early on in premarket trading and really never wavered. If one survived the shakeout following the release of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, it was smooth sailing to the upside.
From 11:00 AM EST on, the bulls dominated the market until the closing bell. For the session, the index added 71.25 handles to close at 4281.00. That marks the highest close for the index since May 4, when it ended the day at 4297.25.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) went from being the worst performer of the top components on Thursday, to being the best performer on Friday. For the session, the issue added $40.20 or 4.7%.
That was over double the cash index’s gain of 1.73%.
The risk-on day doomed Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) as it was the biggest loser of the top components of the index. For the session, the issue declined by $1.84 or 1.1% to close at $165.30.
PreMarket Prep Stock Of The Day: Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS)
Handicapping the direction of the post-earnings move. Read more on DIS here.