In a continuation of the recent theme, the S&P 500 index futures had the day’s tone set with overnight and premarket action that saw dips being bought and subsequent rallies. However, the journey wasn’t entirely smooth for the bulls on Thursday.
Following a higher opening for the regular session, the index futures fluctuated around the opening level of 4786, struggling to breach the 4800 mark. The day’s trading was influenced by several key headlines, including comments from Atlanta Fed’s Bostic at 12pm EST. Bostic’s remarks on the potential for rate cuts before July, contingent on “Convincing Evidence” of faster-than-expected declines in inflation, initially favored the bears, pushing the index to a new intraday low of 4770.
However, the narrative shifted in the afternoon, following reports at 1:30pm EST of the US Senate passing a temporary spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown over the weekend. This news catalyzed a strong bullish response that propelled the index up, pausing at the 4800 resistance area, and onto new highs for the day.
Despite this upward surge, the final 15 minutes of trading saw profit-taking, causing the index to close just shy of the session’s highs. The day ended with a notable gain of 40 handles, closing at 4811.25.
Among the top S&P 500 components, Broadcom, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) led the charge, outperforming other tech companies. The semiconductor giant increased by $40.24 or 3.65%, finishing at $1143.91.
This gain was notably above the cash index’s increase of 0.89%.
On the other end of the spectrum, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) continued its streak as the session’s biggest loser among the top components. The electric vehicle manufacturer’s stock declined by $3.67 or 1.70%, ending the day at $211.88.
