Thursday’s S&P 500 index futures session hit a new all-time high but surrendered to sellers, closing sharply lower amid major earnings and despite positive US-China trade news.

Overnight, bulls rode reports of a US-China deal slashing fentanyl tariffs and rare earth restrictions, pushing to a new peak of 6953.75, reinforcing a triple-top in that area. Profit-takers and top-calling bears seized control, accelerating the decline into the open. A brief dip-buying attempt post-open fell short of green territory, with the index chopping around 6900 for much of the day. 

In the final two hours, support at Wednesday’s low crumbled, driving new lows until the bell. The session closed near the day’s bottom at 6855.50, down 67.25 handles. After hours extended the low to 6851 before after hours earnings sparked a dip-buying rally.

Friday brings morning earnings and September’s PCE index if the government shutdown ends.

Among top index components, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) led as the biggest gainer, climbing $6.91 or 2.52% to close at $281.48 after Wednesday’s post-close report delivered top- and bottom-line beats, though well off a premarket high near $300. 

That outperformed the cash index’s 1.10% drop by over three percent. 

Conversely, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) was the biggest loser, plunging $85.20 or 11.33% to close at $666.47 despite its own earnings beats, hit by analyst downgrades on surging capex plans.