Thursday’s S&P 500 index futures session soared to new all-time highs but faced choppy trading as bulls and bears battled around the 6700 level, with neither side fully dominating.

The session kicked off near the day’s low of 6664 in overnight trading with bulls steadily pushing bids higher into the early morning, peaking at a new all-time high of 6719.75. Selling pressure emerged premarket, intensified by a stronger-than-expected Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (23.2 vs. 1.7 est.) at 8:30 AM ET, signaling robust manufacturing activity. Bears capitalized, erasing most overnight gains.

The regular session opened near Wednesday’s high but quickly faced downward pressure. Support held near the overnight low, sparking some dip-buying. The rally gained momentum after the US leading index for August reported a weaker-than-expected -0.5% (vs. -0.2% est.), helping propel index futures close to the premarket high. Profit-takers stepped in, preventing a new high.

For the rest of the day, the index oscillated around the psychological 6700 level, with support holding near Wednesday’s high. Bulls attempted a late push, but bears had the final say, finishing the session at a new all-time closing high of 6693.50, up 34.75 handles.

Friday offers a quieter day, with no major headlines or earnings except for Fed President Daly’s afternoon remarks.

Among top index components, NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) led as the biggest gainer, climbing $5.95 or 3.49% to close at $176.24. The gains came after an announcement from the company that it will invest $5B in Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) to collaborate on chip development. 

That outpaced the cash index’s 0.47% gain by a magnificent seven times.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), flipping from Wednesday’s win and a seven-day win streak, was the biggest loser, dropping $9.01 or 2.12% to close at $416.85.