The S&P 500 index futures settled into an inside day of consolidation on Friday, scratching around unchanged as traders positioned for next week’s major catalysts.

Overnight trading featured back-and-forth action that ultimately defined the session’s range. Sellers probed support just before the open, printing the day’s low at 6924.75. Bulls countered at the bell, igniting a rally that carried into the green. With no surprises from macro data, the advance continued, nudging slightly above the premarket high to 6964 before strong resistance capped gains.

Bids faded, handing control back to sellers, but support held above the low. The final two hours turned into chop around unchanged as bulls and bears vied for closing positions. The session closed near the midpoint at 6945.75, up a modest 0.75 handles. For the week, that makes for a loss of 31 handles or 0.44%.

Next week brings the FOMC interest-rate decision and press conference on Wednesday, December PPI inflation data on Friday, and a packed earnings calendar featuring many top components including Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL), Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META), Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT).

Among top index components, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) led as the biggest gainer, climbing $15.09 or 3.35% to close at $465.95. 

For those keeping track, that performance was over 83 times better than the cash index’s 0.04% advance. 

On the other hand, Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO) was the biggest loser, dropping $5.54 or 1.70% to close at $319.96.