The S&P 500 index futures is in the midst of its first four-day losing streak since mid-February. After ending last week at 4606.50, the index shed 23.75 handles for the day and 108.50 handles for the week at the closing price of 4498.
While the decline for the day seems modest, investors must take into account that around 1 PM EST, the index was higher by nearly 40 handles before its precipitous decline. While it is difficult to identify one specific catalyst, a cyber attack on US hospitals in five different states did coincide with the unraveling of the index.
Earlier in the week, the battle for control of the index was centered around the 4600 level. Next week the bulls need to defend the 4500 level on the hop.
With the bulk of earnings season over, the next major catalysts for the market will be readings on inflation on Thursday (Consumer Price Index) and Friday (Producer Price Index).
Fasten your seatbelts, investors may be in for a bumpy ride.
Among the top components of the index, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was the biggest winner. Following a Q2 beat, the issue catapulted $10.66 or 8.3% at the closing price of $139.57. That marks the highest closing price in the issue since last August.
That was nearly 9% better than the cash index’s decline of 0.53%.
Conversely, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was the biggest loser of the top components of the index for the second day in a row. Its Q3 beat was not good enough, causing investors to dump the issue. For the session, the issue swooned $9.22 or 4.8%.
