The S&P 500 index futures turned into a choppy mess Wednesday as in-line inflation data and mixed headlines failed to give bulls or bears any sustained edge.
| February Report | Actual | Expected | Previous |
| CPI (MoM) | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| CPI (YoY) | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.4% |
| Core CPI (MoM) | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Core CPI (YoY) | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% |
Overnight, bulls attempted a rally but topped out at 6822.50 before sliding back to unchanged by morning. Roughly in-line CPI data helped spark a quick pop that was sold aggressively within minutes. Bulls then found support and pushed a small rally into the pre-open. Once the regular session began, chop dominated. Morning comments from Trump about there being no targets left in Iran added volatility with another quick pop and drop. Support held near the premarket low initially, but bears eventually broke through.
After more back-and-forth post-noon, the low printed at 6749.75. Bulls then sustained higher lows in the final two hours to pare some of the day’s losses. The session closed just below the day’s midpoint at 6779.50, down 7.75 handles.
Thursday brings more earnings reports morning and evening, especially from retail names, along with January’s US trade deficit and some housing data.
Among the top components of the index, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) stood out as the biggest gainer, climbing $8.59 or 2.15% to close at $407.82.
That performance was over two percent better than the cash index’s 0.13% decline.
On the other hand, Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) was the biggest loser, falling $1.63 or 1.30% to close at $123.49.
