Following Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Q1 beat, the S&P 500 index futures had a muted reaction. However, investors went on a buying spree following Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) Q1 beat in Thursday’s session.
The rally which began in the after-hours session on Wednesday, never saw the index come close to unchanged following the Meta Platforms beat. The index was contained in the first few hours of the regular session, but once it cleared Wednesday’s high, the pace of the rally greatly accelerated.
In fact, the index recouped its last few days of losses and came close to reaching Monday’s close (4159.50), but came up just shy (4157.25 vs. 4159.50). For the session, the index added 77.75 handles at the closing price of 4153.75.
Meta Platforms Inc. was by far the biggest winner of the top components. For the session, the issue added $29.16 or 13.9% at the closing price of $238.56. That takes it back to levels not seen since February 2022.
That was over seven times the index’s gain of 1.91%.
The biggest loser of the top components of the smallest winner. That being Johnson & Johnson Inc. (NYSE: JNJ) which only added $0.38 or 0.23% at the closing price of $163.
