The divergence from last week regarding the S&P 500 index futures’ price action during the premarket and regular session continued on Monday. After a lower open, the bears pressured the index in an attempt to breach the premarket low.
Once the attempt was thwarted, the bulls went on the offensive. Heading into the lunch hour, once a sustained bid above the close was established, the index went on to breach Friday’s high (4666), rallying just over ten handles higher, before stalling at 4676.25.
Heading into the final hour, the index rested just under the intraday high and made another push in the final minute peaking at 4679.50. It backed off ever so slightly and the end result was a gain of 18.25 handles at the closing price of 4678.50. That marks the highest close for the index since August 1.
Among the top components, Berkshire Hathaway Class B (NYSE: BRK.B) was the biggest winner by a nice margin. For the session, the issue added $3.98 or 1.12% at the closing price of $357.06.
That was nearly triple the cash index’s advance of 0.39%.
On the opposite end of the top components was Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY). Investors headed to the exit following the detailed results from the SURMOUNT-4 Phase 3 study evaluating the safety and efficacy of Zepbound (tirzepatide) compared to a placebo for obesity, excluding those with Type 2 diabetes. The study revealed patients that did not continue with the drug were more likely to regain the weight previously lost. For the session, the issue tumbled $14.01 or $2.34% at the closing price of $584.04.
