The combination of a few poor earnings reports (Micron Tech and Karmax) had the S&P 500 index under major selling pressure. The retreat in premarket trading off a double top (3918.75 and 3919.75), continued in a big way during the regular session.
After starting the day 30 handles in the red, the index easily breached the premarket low, and the pace of the decline accelerated. The index went on to slice through Tuesday’s low and dip into the 3700-handle for the first time since November 10.
Heading into the final two hours, the bulls sprung into action and instigated a formidable rally into the close. In fact, the index nearly recovered half of its losses from the extended range session, ending the day lower by 56.50 handles at 3849.25.
The biggest winner of the top components was UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH). For the session, the issue declined by $0.45 or 0.09% with a closing price of $527.09.
That was much better than the cash index’s decline of 1.45%.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was the biggest loser of the top components for the second day in a row. The issue plunged $12.22 or 8.9% to close at $124.67. That marks the lowest closing price for the issue since October 2020.
For the month of December only, Tesla is lower by $69.35 or 36%.
