Bulls could not quite drag the S&P 500 index futures to new all-time highs during Friday’s session, but they finished strong all the same, notching a new all-time closing high after a mixed jobs report.
The futures action was fairly quiet to start, with the low of 7725.50 going in early and marking a double-bottom with Thursday’s low. Overnight, bulls began to gain momentum, grinding closer to Thursday’s high ahead of the July jobs report. The data landed mixed: the report noted 23,000 jobs lost against expectations for an addition of 83,000 payrolls, while the unemployment rate ticked lower than expected at 4.1% versus 4.2%. Bulls took the report and ran with it, though that initial rally was sold off by the regular session open.
Following the bell, the action turned to chop as bulls and bears fought for control. A quick dip below the opening area was met with an immediate rebound, with bulls rocketing the index futures up past the premarket high. They continued to fight off sellers, but the rally slowed to a crawl by late morning, topping out at 7786.75, nearly perfectly matching Tuesday’s high.
Over the lunch hour, profit-takers and other sellers seized control, pressuring the index futures back to the regular session open in the penultimate hour. Bulls weren’t finished, however, and rebounded once again to claw back some of the morning’s wins. The session concluded with chop near the day’s high at 7779.75, gaining 45 handles.
Monday, market participants can look forward to a break from macro data reports, along with a few earnings releases expected in the morning and evening.
Among the top components of the index, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) emerged as the biggest gainer. The AI/EV company advanced by $9.05 or 2.83% to close at $328.58 for the day.
That performance was a fabulous four times better than the cash index’s advance of 0.61%.
For the third day in a row, the biggest loser ended up being Alphabet Inc’s Class A shares (NASDAQ: GOOGL). For the day, the tech giant declined by $3.45 or 0.96% to close at $354.30.
