The propensity of the S&P 500 index to finish on the highs or lows of the week once again played out in today’s session. Despite most of this week’s action taking place within a confined range, the futures managed to close the day, and the week, on the highs.
The overnight session witnessed some indecisiveness, but as the premarket hours unfolded, the bulls made a firm stand at Thursday’s low. This foundation set the stage for a steady ascension that dominated the day’s narrative, with the only bearish action briefly taking place just after the regular session’s opening bell.
This temporary sway towards the bears was spurred by the release of November’s preliminary consumer sentiment index, plunging to a six-month low at 60.4. However, this bearish sentiment was short-lived, lasting merely half an hour before the bulls reasserted their dominance, resuming the day’s upward grind.
The day’s rally saw the futures index breaking free from the week’s trading range, surpassing even October’s highs. The session culminated with the index clocking a robust gain of 68.25 handles, closing at 4430.50. This surge turned the week’s performance from red to green, culminating in a total weekly advance of 52 handles or 1.19%.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) stood out amongst the top components of the index, extending its winning streak to eight sessions. The tech giant advanced 2.95% or $13.85, ending the day at $483.35.
That performance nearly doubled the cash index’s gain of 1.56%.
The session didn’t witness any losers among the index’s top components. Therefore, the smallest winner was UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH), which still managed a modest uptick of 0.41% or $2.21, closing at $541.21.
