Thursday’s action in the S&P 500 index futures may have started with overnight optimism, but bears ruled most of the day, swatting down every rally with gusto. 

By the regular session open, sellers wiped out premarket gains and then some, and once the opening bell rang, the selling kicked into high gear. The premarket low didn’t hold, but bulls soon found a foothold at 5720, near the March 21 high and close.

From that base, they sparked a rally that shot the index futures nearly straight up, past the premarket high. Resistance loomed at the daily pivot, and the bulls couldn’t crack 5779.75. Sellers and profit-takers soon pounced, dragging the index back down into a rocky afternoon. Most of the intraday session remained in the red, with bears hammering the bid every time bulls broke above unchanged.

The final blow came in the last 30 minutes, as the index futures shed about 30 handles in a steady bleed. The session wrapped up below the day’s midpoint at 5739.25, losing 20.25 handles.

Among the index’s top components, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) stood out as the biggest gainer. The tech giant climbed $2.32, or 1.05%, to close at $223.85. 

That gain outpaced the cash index’s 0.27% decline by over one percent.

Meanwhile, Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO) took the hardest hit for the third time this week. The chip designer slumped $7.28, or 4.06%, closing at $171.99, caught in the day’s tech-heavy downdraft.