Tuesday’s S&P 500 index futures session delivered volatility, dipping to new monthly lows and chopping through conflicting data, closing modestly lower.

Overnight, bears pressed early, but dip-buyers steadied the index futures into the morning. At 8:30 AM ET, delayed October retail sales and November jobs data hit: unemployment ticked higher than expected (4.6% vs. 4.5%), jobs added beat (64K vs. 45K), retail sales overall flat (0.0% vs. 0.1% expected), but ex-autos were stronger (0.4% vs. 0.2%). Algos and other buyers initially spiked the index futures to 6892 before reversing sharply into the red.

The regular session open amplified chop as direction remained elusive. Resistance at Monday’s close held firm, eventually inviting more selling. A gradual decline tested support at the overnight low before breaking over lunch, bottoming at 6817.50 in the afternoon. Bulls defended there, and the recovery featured plenty of back-and-forth before volatility eased late. Final-minute profit-taking capped any chance of nearing green territory. The regular session then closed near the midpoint at 6856.25, down 24.75 handles.

Wednesday offers scattered morning and evening earnings, plus some fedspeak.

Among top index components, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) drove to the biggest gainer spot for the third straight day. Amid robotaxi progress reports, the AI/EV company surged $14.57 or 3.07% to close at $489.88, hitting fresh all-time highs.

That performance was over three percent better than the cash index’s 0.27% decline.

The biggest loser was Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.B). For the day, the holding company fell $6.54 or 1.29% to close at $499.84.