Monday’s trading session marked a stark contrast to last week’s dynamics for the S&P 500 index futures. Despite a lower trend during most of the premarket hours, the regular session was characterized by bullish dominance, with no red to be seen intraday.
The regular session began with a modestly higher open, and although the index experienced a brief dip early on, it remained in positive territory. This set the stage for a strong upward momentum. The bulls confidently steered the session, only briefly pausing near last Friday’s and then Thursday’s highs.
The bullish trend continued unabated throughout the day, with the index futures even breaking through the 4800 level in the final thirty minutes of trading. Heading into the close, the index slightly tapered but still secured a substantial gain of 66.50 handles, ending the day at 4801.25.
NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) once again emerged as the top performer among the index’s major components, and by a significant margin. Bolstered by reports of Chinese automakers opting for NVIDIA’s automated driving processors, the semiconductor company soared by $31.56 or 6.43%, setting a new all-time closing high at $522.53.
This impressive gain outpaced the cash index’s solid increase of 1.43% by a full five percent.
Conversely, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) continued its downward trajectory, albeit with a minor decline. The healthcare giant ended the day with a slight decrease of $0.86 or 0.16%, closing at $536.52, marking it as the session’s most significant loser among the top components.
