Monday’s trading session in the S&P 500 index futures exhibited a dramatic reversal, marking a departure from the recent pattern of consolidation followed by breakout, only to culminate in what could be termed a fakeout.
The regular session opened slightly in the red, yet close to all-time highs, and the bulls quickly got into gear to propel the index into positive territory. As trading progressed, the index choppily ascended, setting higher lows throughout the session.
The day’s bullish momentum was notably driven by enthusiasm in the AI and tech sectors, with Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) receiving particular attention following the announcement of its upcoming inclusion in the S&P 500 index by March 18, 2024.
By 2:30pm EST, Friday’s high was breached, and the index futures rocketed to a new all-time high of 5157.50. However, this ascent was short-lived as the market’s support began to falter, and the bears quickly regained dominance. The session’s final hour saw a precipitous drop from the day’s highs, ending just shy of the intraday lows, with the index futures down by 7.75 handles at 5138.25.
NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) stood out as Monday’s most significant gainer among top components, benefitting from the broader rally in chip stocks. The semiconductor powerhouse climbed $29.58 or 3.60% to close at $852.37.
That performance easily beat the cash index’s modest decline of 0.11%.
Conversely, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) found itself at the other end of the spectrum, bearing the brunt of the market’s retreat amid reports of waning sales in China for February. The electric vehicle titan saw its stock tumble $14.50 or 7.16% to finish at $188.14.
