Traders got the chance to participate in more volatility during Thursday’s session, but the S&P 500 index futures remained within the week’s range, one day before the release of May’s PCE index Friday morning.
Overnight, the bears tested Wednesday’s low, but the bulls were able to hold support and mounted a significant rebound off that level. By 8:30am EDT, the index futures were back up to the weekly pivot area. Various economic reports were also released at that time, including May’s durable goods orders coming in above expectations at +0.1%, compared to -1.0% expected. After a very brief dip, the bulls brought the index nearly into the green, but couldn’t quite sustain a bid near that level before the open.
Once the bell rang, the bulls came stampeding in, taking the index futures back into the green to test resistance at Wednesday’s high. They were able to breach that level by a few handles several times, even as the bears fought back to create 10-15 handle whipsaw moves.
Unable to sustain a bid above Wednesday’s high, the bears brought the index futures back down to the 5030 area. For the remainder of the afternoon, the bulls and bears continued a tug-of-war, testing support at that level and resistance under Wednesday’s high. As the regular session neared the close, it seemed the index futures were slated for a red day. However, the bulls stepped up in a big way during the final 5 minutes. Rallying all the way into the close, the session concluded somewhat near the day’s highs at 5546, gaining a measly 2.50 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 make a new all-time high and all-time closing high, advancing by $4.24 or 2.19% to close at $197.85 for the day.
That performance was a lucky 13 times better than the cash index’s advance of 0.16%.
Back on its decline, the biggest loser ended up being NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA). For the day, the chip designer declined by $2.41 or 1.91% to close at $123.99.
