The S&P 500 Index Futures experienced a rollercoaster ride today, driven primarily by two major events. First, an options expiration that was larger than usual kicked off the day’s volatility, as the other event was the special rebalancing of the NASDAQ, slated to take effect prior to Monday’s session, which further amplified the swings.
Despite a bullish push to the premarket high of 4590, the regular session didn’t manage to mount a challenge to this level. Once trading commenced, the index plummeted sharply to establish the day’s low around the 4564 mark, near yesterday’s closing level. The index oscillated between the highs (near today’s open) and the day’s lows several times before ending the day slightly in the red, logging a two-day losing streak in the futures.
The futures index closed at 4564.75, marking a negligible loss for the day of 0.75 handles. Nevertheless, the index managed to achieve a 0.65% gain for the week, moving up a total of 29.50 handles.
Among the top components, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) emerged as the day’s biggest winner. The tech giant’s stock advanced 0.69% or $0.82, closing at $120.02.
This performance marginally outpaced the cash index’s scratch advance of 0.04% for the day.
On the flip side, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) suffered the largest decline among the top components. Partially impacted by the NASDAQ special rebalance, the social media behemoth’s stock slid by 2.73% or $8.26, settling at $294.26 at the close.
