The S&P 500 index futures endured a volatile Monday session as geopolitical headlines triggered an early selloff, though buy-the-dippers staged a strong comeback through the day.

Weekend news of US strikes in Iran and reports of escalating conflict in the region sent bulls into panic mode and handed control to bears Sunday night. Futures plunged to a low of 6768.50 early in the morning, nearly tagging February’s low. Bids began piling in from there, sparking a small rally that held the psychological 6800 level into the opening bell. Offers were quickly lifted post-open, and the index climbed higher. Manufacturing PMI coming in above estimates added fuel to the bullish move, paving the way for bulls to chop their way upward through the session. 

Resistance capped progress at the 6900 psychological level over lunch, but that barrier broke in the final two hours. The rally stalled at a high of 6911.25 before late-day reports of further Iran developments gave sellers fresh ammunition, pulling futures back below 6900. The session closed in the upper half of the day’s range at 6888.25, down just 0.75 handles.

Tuesday brings fedspeak, a heavy earnings slate morning and evening, and likely continued geopolitical developments.

Among the top components of the index, NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) stood out as the biggest gainer, climbing $5.18 or 2.93% to close at $182.37.

For those keeping track, that performance was a whole 48 times better than the cash index’s 0.06% advance.

On the other hand, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.B) was the biggest loser, dropping $25.10 or 4.97% to close at $480.17.