As market participants eagerly anticipate the upcoming FOMC meeting and subsequent press conference on Wednesday, the S&P 500 index futures continued to consolidate to the upside during Monday’s session.
The overnight session began Sunday night slightly in the red, and once the bulls fought off initial sellers, they made their way back up above unchanged. The bears weren’t done, however, as they soon drove the index futures back into the red. The back and forth continued throughout the premarket session to stay within the initial low and Friday’s high. By the morning, the probability of a 50 bp rate cut had jumped higher, and as of time of writing, now sits at 67%, compared to the 43% seen earlier on Friday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Volatility picked up off the open of the regular session, with bears soon testing and breaching the premarket low, only for the bulls to snap back with a rally straight up to the premarket high. The chop continued as the bears soon neared Friday’s intraday low. The bulls then rallied off the 5609.25 mark, after which the chop continued albeit with a reduced range.
Gradually, the bulls bid up the index futures, nearing the initial intraday high in the final two hours of the session. During the final five minutes of trading, buyers established a new intraday high to match Friday’s high. The inside day concluded near the day’s high at 5638, gaining a measly 8.25 handles and marking a six-day win streak.
Among the top components of the index, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) emerged as the biggest gainer. The tech conglomerate was able to advance by $9.16 or 1.75% to close at $533.28 for the day.
That performance was nearly a dozen times better than the cash index’s advance of 0.15%.
Conversely, the biggest loser was Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) after reports of soft iPhone 16 demand were released. For the day, the tech giant declined by $6.18 or 2.78% to close at $216.32.
