The conclusion of Friday’s options expiration appeared to pave the way for a much-needed relief rally in the markets, with the S&P 500 Index Futures building on the bullish momentum witnessed towards the tail-end of last week.
Front and center of today’s bullish drive was NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA). The tech giant’s shares rode a wave of optimism following bullish price target revisions from analysts at HSBC and BMO.
For traders eyeing a bullish continuation from the S&P 500’s promising premarket action, patience was the order of the day. While the regular session’s opening salvo saw the index momentarily flirting with its premarket highs, sellers swiftly seized the narrative. This rapid shift in momentum sent the index into a tailspin from being up about 28 handles on the day, into the red by nearly 8 handles, compared to the close of Friday’s session. However, the bulls rallied, reclaiming lost ground and pushing the index into the green. By the day’s curtain call, the S&P 500 had rallied a robust 26.75 handles to close at 4409.50.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), as highlighted earlier, wasn’t just a bystander in today’s market proceedings. Beyond being an instrumental force driving the broader market, NVDA also emerged as the day’s standout performer among the index’s top components. The company’s stock registered an impressive 8.47% gain, or an uptick of $36.68, to conclude the trading session at $469.67. It’s also worth noting that the bullish fervor surrounding NVDA didn’t subside post-market; shares continued their upward march in after-hours trading as investors eagerly await Wednesday’s earnings announcement.
In stark contrast, NVDA’s stellar gains were over 12 times the day’s cash index increase of 0.70%.
However, not every top component enjoyed NVDA’s ascent. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), for instance, saw its recent winning streak snapped. After two consecutive days in the green last week, the energy conglomerate experienced a 1.21% decline, or a drop of $1.33, settling at $108.71 for the day.
