The S&P 500 index futures may have established a two-day winning streak, however it was anything but smooth sailing for the bulls.
After relatively quiet overnight/premarket trading, the action picked up once Consumer Price Index (CPI) data was released at 8:30am EDT, as per the below chart.
| July Report | Actual | Expected | Previous |
| CPI (MoM) | 0.2% | 0.2% | -0.1% |
| CPI (YoY) | 2.9% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| Core CPI (MoM) | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Core CPI (YoY) | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.3% |
After the in-line inflation data was released, the bulls took charge first, quickly expanding the premarket high to 5473.75. The bears soon followed, taking the index futures back into the red to make a new premarket low of 5448.50. Before the regular session opened, the bulls had the index futures trading above unchanged in the 5460’s. After the opening bell, the bears took control and after encountering some support, sliced through the premarket low.
The bulls didn’t find their footing until 5438.75, at which point they instigated quite the rebound. Buying continued up past the premarket high and stalled out in the 5480’s, peaking at 5487.75. Then it was the bears’ turn. The index futures went straight back down to unchanged, where support held during the lunch hour. From that point, the bulls tried to instigate some afternoon rallies, which just turned into chop.
Not giving up, the bulls tried for a last-minute rally in the final 10-15 minutes, but were denied by sellers who came back during the final five minutes. The session still concluded near the day’s high at 5477, gaining 18 handles.
Among the top components of the index, Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE: LLY) emerged as the biggest gainer. The healthcare company was able to advance by $23.63 or 2.60% to close at $931.68 for the day.
That performance was a great eight times better than the cash index’s advance of 0.32%.
The biggest loser ended up being Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). For the day, the EV maker declined by $6.45 or 3.10% to close at $201.38.
