Monday’s S&P 500 index futures session kicked off Christmas week on a bullish tone, aligning with seasonal expectations and grinding steadily higher.

Overnight bears were notably absent, allowing bulls to slowly lift the index futures from a low of 6900.50, which coincided with Friday’s high. The regular session open stayed comfortably green, though early volatility brought quick choppy swings. Dips were repeatedly bought, with support tested multiple times before holding.

After the first hour, bulls broke higher, but the move topped out over lunch at 6936.25, forming a double-top with last week’s peak. The remainder of the afternoon traded relatively calmly just below that level. The regular session closed near the day’s high at 6930.25, up 43 handles.

Tuesday brings delayed macro reports, including Q3 GDP and October durable goods orders at 8:30 AM ET, among others.

Among top index components, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) emerged as the biggest gainer. The AI/EV company rose $7.53 or 1.56% to close at $488.73.

That performance was over twice the cash index’s 0.62% advance.

On the other hand, the biggest loser was Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT). For the day, the retail giant fell $1.76 or 1.54% to close at $112.60.