Tuesday’s S&P 500 index futures session flirted with all-time highs but reversed sharply, surrendering Monday’s gains and more as earnings season volatility persisted.

Overnight, bulls comfortably defended the psychological 7000 level, pushing to a high of 7027.25. After the opening bell, volatility surged and bids weakened. Support near 7000 gave way, followed by the daily pivot, allowing bears to drive a steady sell-off through the morning and into the afternoon. The decline bottomed at 6886.25 before news of the US House approving funds to end the government shutdown helped trigger a reversal. 

Bulls began paring losses in the final two hours, with buying continuing steadily into the close. The session finished below the day’s midpoint at 6941.75, down 60.75 handles.

Wednesday features January’s ADP employment report at 8:15 AM ET, a heavy slate of earnings throughout the morning and evening, including Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) reporting around 4:03 PM ET.

Among top index components, Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) led as the biggest gainer for the second consecutive day, rising $3.65 or 2.94% to close at $127.71 and setting new all-time highs. 

That move outperformed the cash index’s 0.85% decline by over three percent. 

Conversely, Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO) was the biggest loser, dropping $10.78 or 3.26% to close at $320.33.