Despite the S&P 500 Index Futures not continuing Tuesday’s upward trajectory, today’s session was marked by significant fluctuations. Within the first 30 minutes after the open, the index broke the premarket low (4404.25), rapidly establishing a new intraday low (4399.25). This bearish momentum, however, was short-lived as bulls rallied, driving the index nearly vertically upwards to an intraday high of 4430.25 before lunch.
This erratic performance was catalyzed by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish commentary, hinting at the possibility of further interest rate hikes later in the year. Following the intraday high, the index plummeted back to the session’s lows into the lunch hour and largely maintained this level for the remainder of the day as investors processed the implications of the Fed’s statements. In the last 15 minutes of trading, bulls mustered a final rally, nudging the futures back up to close the day with a slight loss of 1.25 handles at 4417.50.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) continued its winning streak among top components, gaining 2.41% or $6.03 to close at $256.24. This performance was fuelled by news of additional companies adopting Tesla’s NACS connector, further enhancing the company’s market position.
This easily surpassed the cash index’s scratch session of -0.03% for the day.
Conversely, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) was the biggest loser among top components, shedding 1.81% to close at $411.17. This decline was in sync with the broad downturn in the chip sector, following the announcement by the U.S. Commerce Department of its intention to halt chip shipments to China for companies without a license.
