Just like one month ago, the S&P 500 index futures are once again consolidating underneath all-time highs. Unlike last month, there was at least an initial positive reaction to CPI data during Wednesday trading session.
Sellers had the initial edge over the bulls as the overnight session began, and up until 8:30am EST when October’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data was released, the action took place entirely in the red.
| October Report | Actual | Expected | Previous |
| CPI (MoM) | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| CPI (YoY) | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.4% |
| Core CPI (MoM) | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Core CPI (YoY) | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.3% |
The in-line CPI data had the bulls in a buying frenzy, and according to CME’s FedWatch tool, the chances of a quarter point cut in December jumped from yesterday’s 58.7% to 86.0%. However, right after the bulls helped rocket the index futures into the green, sellers took it right back down to unchanged.
After the opening bell rang, sellers continued to push lower, eventually running into support near the premarket low. Buy-the-dippers then brought the index futures nearly straight back up and continued to push into green territory. Resistance came in just above the premarket high, marking a double-top at Tuesday’s high in the 6036 area.
During the penultimate hour, bulls were no longer able to hold onto their gains as the index futures sank back down to unchanged, where it continued to chop around for the rest of the day. The session concluded just above the day’s midpoint at 6016, gaining a measly 3 handles.
Among the top components of the index, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) emerged as the biggest gainer. The e-commerce giant was able to advance by $5.19 or 2.48% to close at $214.10 for the day, making new all-time and all-time closing highs in the process.
For those keeping track, that performance was almost a nifty 50 times better than the cash index’s advance of 0.05%.
The biggest loser ended up being Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL). For the day, the search giant declined by $2.74 or 1.51% to close at $178.88.
