Trading ranges cannot go on forever. After spending the majority of the last twelve sessions yo-yoing between 3800 and 3900, the bulls made a stand today. Despite the unemployment rate declining to 3.5%, revisions to prior months payroll numbers and an unexpected decrease in wage inflation sent the S&P 500 index into orbit.
The end result of the session, a gain of 86.50 handles to 3915.50, does not reflect the slippery path it took to get there. After tacking on over 40 handles following the jobs data, sellers off the open nudged the index to unchanged before the bulls regained control.
A decrease in ISM Manufacturing numbers, coupled with dovish comments from the Fed’s Bostic, resulted in a relentless bid in the index entering the final hour. However, the index found resistance just ahead of its December 16 high (3934.50), only reaching 3928.75 and tapered off into the close.
The end result of today’s rally is that the index is still in a 14-day trading range (3788.50-3934.50), with the index posting its highest close of the time period. With December’s CPI data looming on Thursday, the impetus will be on the bulls to press higher into the print and to have the large contingent of bears reevaluating their long-term negative outlook.
High-beta Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) was the biggest gainer of the top components of the index. For the session, the issue advanced by $5.94 or 4.2% to close at $148.59.
That was not quite double the cash index’s advance of 2.28%.
The biggest loser of the top components was still higher on the session, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH). For the session, the issue eked out a small gain with a gain of $0.04 with a closing price of $490.
