S&P 500 Futures Index Edges Back Above $4130.00 Amid General Positive Mood Around Wall Street

• The S&P 500 Futures Index edged back above $41000.00, supported by the generally positive mood around Wall Street
• Better-than-expected top-line results from Meta saw futures tied to the S&P 500 Index jump by 1.84%, boosting the mood around Wall Street
• The positive mood around Wall Street sees investors overlook weaker-than-expected US GDP data
• Focus now turns to the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the Core PCE data report, for fresh directional impetus

The S&P 500 Futures Index edged higher during the Asian session on Friday as robust earnings reports helped investors overlook past signs of an economic slowdown. As per press time, futures tied to the S&P 500 Index rose 0.07%/3.07 points to trade at $4130.55 after slipping slightly by 12% in the after-trading hours following Amazon stock dipping after executives raised concerns of ongoing weakness in cloud growth. As a result, Amazon shares were down about 2% in extended trading after initially rising following the online retailer's first-quarter results.

Nevertheless, the generally positive mood around the equity markets helped futures tied to the S&P 500 Index to rebound and recoup back some of its earlier losses. The main index is trading shy-off from its best day since January.

On Thursday, futures tied to the S&P 500 Index jumped by 1.84% to notch its best day since January as solid results from Meta platforms boosted tech-related names. Meta on Thursday reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings report and issued better-than-expected guidance for the current period. As a result, Meta shares surged by 12%. Additionally, several analysts hiked their price targets following the release. The strong Meta earnings report comes from better earnings reports from Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet which underlined the resilience of the core business at both companies. As a result, futures tied to the S&P 500 Index surged 0.42%/17 points on Wednesday.

On the economic data front, the U.S. economy grew by an annualized 1.1 percent in Q1 2023, slowing from a 2.6% expansion in the previous quarter and missing market expectations of a 2% growth, a U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data showed on Thursday. The weaker economic growth figures suggested the Fed could soon wind up its interest rate hikes. Nevertheless, the Federal Reserve is expected to hike interest rates by 25 basis points next week. Markets are convinced that the FED will hike interest rates next week by 25bps to 5.00% as CME's Fed Watch Tool shows Fed fund futures traders have priced in a nearly 90% chance that the Fed will hike rates by 25 basis points in May, up from 84.1% last week. The weaker-than-expected GDP data, however, was to a greater extent overshadowed by a generally positive mood around Wall Street, which saw investors take stock of better earnings reports from top companies in the U.S.

Gainer and Losers

Here are this week's top S&P 500 index movers, a week in which the index is set to close with solid gains.

Top Gainers

The top performers on the S&P 500 were:

• Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) rose 14.63% to $58.93
• Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) was up 13.93%, settling at $238.56 
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) gained 10.27% to close at $40.27

Top Losers

The worst performers on the S&P 500 were:

• Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN) was down 10.39% to $317.73 in late trade
• AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV), which lost 7.93% to settle at $148.97
• At the close, Domino's Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) was down 6.48% to $317.07

As we advance, the broader market risk sentiment and U.S. Treasury bond yields will continue to influence futures tied to the S&P 500 Index and provide short-term trading opportunities around the index. The focus, however, remains on today's Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the Core PCE data report, which is expected to show easing inflation in the U.S. and remains constant at 0.3%.

Technical Outlook: Four-Hour US 500 Futures Index Price Chart

From a technical standstill, an increase in buying pressure from the current price level would encounter initial resistance at the 4163.91 - 4174.24 supply zone. Sustained strength above this zone could clear the path for more gains, setting the S&P 500 index up for a 0.51% rally toward the February 2023 swing high of 4195.56 resistance level. A decisive flip of this resistance level into a support level would pave the way for additional gains around the S&P 500 index.

On the flip side, if dip-sellers resurface and spark a bearish turnaround, the price will first find support at the buyer congestion zone due to the 20-day (blue) and 50-day (red) EMA levels at 4104.05 and 4060.97, respectively. Sustained strength below this zone would rejuvenate the bearish momentum, provoking an extended rally toward the technically 200-day solid (yellow) EMA level at 4025.35. A convincing move below this level would set the main index for more losses. In highly bearish cases, the bearish trajectory could be extended toward the 4000.00 psychological mark after breaking below the 4010.24 confluence support level due to the 50-day (red) and 200-day (yellow) EMA crossover (Golden cross).