In another day full of choppy, back and forth action in the S&P 500 index futures, the propensity to end the week on the highs or lows played out once again. Ending near the week’s highs, Friday’s session remained within the existing weekly range, and further solidified resistance in the 5660’s.
Overnight, the bulls defended Thursday’s closing level, which also coincided with the daily pivot area. The rally lasted into the early morning, slowing as the opening bell approached. At 8:30am EDT, July’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index data was released as follows:
| July Report | Actual | Expected | Previous |
| PCE Index (MoM) | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| PCE Index (YoY) | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| Core PCE Index (MoM) | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Core PCE Index (YoY) | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.6% |
Following the report, the bears initially gained the edge on the bulls, but buyers bought up the small dip before the opening bell. As the regular session got underway, the bulls were eager to initiate a rally. They were able to breach the premarket high multiple times, but were denied any continuation. During this time, August’s Chicago Business Barometer (PMI) came in slightly above expectations (46.1% vs. 45.6% exp.) and August’s Consumer sentiment came in slightly under expectations (67.9% vs. 68% exp.), helping to add to the volatility.
After the first hour of chop, the bears finally gained the upper hand and initiated a selloff. Support was found near Thursday’s closing area, but sellers were able to breach through that as well. The index futures eventually bottomed during the lunch hour at 5594.25, just below Thursday’s intraday low. From that point, the chop resumed, but it was clear buyers were gaining the upper hand. The pace of the rally also picked up as buyers cleared Thursday’s closing area in the final two hours.
Finishing strong, the bulls breached through the intraday highs during the final 15 minutes, reaching a high of 5665. That marks the sixth daily high in that area. As profit-takers took advantage of the late-day rally, the session concluded just below the high at 5661, gaining a healthy 51 handles. For the week, that makes for a scratch advance of 8.50 handles or 0.15% and for the month, a gain of 180.75 handles or 3.30%.
Among the top components of the index, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) emerged as the biggest gainer. The EV maker was able to advance by $7.83 or 3.80% to close at $214.11 for the day.
That performance was over four times better than the cash index’s advance of 0.95%.
The biggest loser ended up being Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL). For the day, the tech giant declined by $0.79 or 0.34% to close at $229.00.
