Friday’s trading in the S&P 500 index futures saw market participants wrestling with direction, following a decline from all-time highs in yesterday’s session.
The session began slightly in the negative, following overnight and premarket oscillations between green and red. Initial optimism faded quickly as sellers capitalized on early rallies, dragging the index futures beneath the premarket lows.
Amidst a relatively quiet news front, the market digested mixed reactions to after-hours earnings reports from Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) and Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ: LULU), both of which disappointed, as indicated by their gaps down. FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX), despite an upbeat earnings release, also gave up nearly half its initial after-hours gains as the session progressed.
This pattern of selling on strength prevailed throughout the day, capping any significant advances by the bulls. A modest afternoon rally pushed the index to new intraday highs but failed to sustain momentum, with the index eventually succumbing to selling pressure.
Leading up to the close, there was an attempt at a bullish rally, but the bears were ready. After a (literal) last-minute sell off heading into the closing bell, the index futures finished back near the intraday lows down by 9.25 handles at 5293.25.
Despite Friday’s pullback, the week closed on a robust note with an overall gain of 110.50 handles or 2.13%.
In top component performance, NVIDIA Corp stood out, continuing its ascent with a $28.54 or 3.12% gain, closing at $942.89, and marking a notable four-day winning streak.
That surge significantly outpaced the cash index’s decline of 0.19%.
Conversely, JPMorgan Chase & Co emerged as the biggest loser among top components. The banking giant faced a reversal, snapping a five-day win streak by closing $2.44 or 1.23% lower at $196.62.
