The S&P 500 closed at 7,723.55, down 12.97 points, or 0.17%, on the day. Breadth was close to even, with 243 of the index's 503 members finishing higher, and the equal-weight version of the index slipped 0.22%, roughly in line with the headline. The gap between that near-even breadth and the modest decline points to a narrow group of large-cap losers doing most of the damage while the rest of the tape held up reasonably well.
The two Alphabet share classes together subtracted 14.58 points from the index, by far the largest drag, with GOOGL down 4.03% and GOOG down 4.05%. AMD (down 7.04%), Amazon (down 1.72%) and Microsoft (down 1.09%) rounded out the biggest detractors. On the other side, Nvidia alone added 14.80 points on a 3.43% gain, nearly offsetting the Alphabet hit by itself, with Eli Lilly, Apple, Booking Holdings and Amgen contributing smaller gains.
The Dow
The Dow told a different story, closing at 54,349.00, up 263.12 points, or 0.49%, with 21 of its 30 members finishing higher. That breadth is far stronger than the S&P's, and the index's own equal-weight measure rose 0.63%, confirming the gain was broadly shared rather than a single-stock story. Amgen was the standout, adding 105.86 points on a 4.57% jump, more than four times the next-largest contributor, Sherwin-Williams (up 2.22%). Goldman Sachs, Nvidia and McDonald's also added meaningfully.
The Dow's divergence from the S&P shows up in Alphabet: GOOGL was the Dow's single largest drag at negative 90.46 points, the same stock that hurt the S&P and Nasdaq 100, but the Dow's health care and materials strength more than covered it. Microsoft, Caterpillar, Amazon and Chevron rounded out the drag side, none large enough to offset Amgen's push.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,487.79, down 245.37 points, or 0.83%, with only 38 of its 102 members higher and the equal-weight index down 0.84%. That is the weakest breadth of the three benchmarks today, and it is where Alphabet's damage compounds: the two share classes together subtracted 142.24 points here, far larger than their S&P impact given the index's tech weighting. Space Exploration Technologies added its own drag, down 13.61% and worth negative 85.32 points, a name that does not appear in the S&P or Dow lineups and is unique to this index's story. AMD and Amazon also weighed on the index.
Nvidia was again the largest offsetting force, adding 67.31 points on its 3.43% gain, with Shopify's 16.98% jump adding 10.37 points and Apple, Booking Holdings and Amgen contributing smaller lifts.
The sectors
Across the eleven sectors, the split was almost even but the ranking is telling: defensively-oriented Health Care and cyclical Materials led, while Energy and Communication Services lagged.
Health Care was the day's strongest sector, up 1.26%, or 2.05 points, with Eli Lilly doing the heavy lifting, adding 1.16 points on a 4.81% gain.
Energy was the weakest, down 2.09%, or 1.23 points, with Exxon Mobil the top drag, subtracting 0.18 points on a 1.53% decline. Communication Services was close behind, down 1.05%, weighed down by the same Alphabet weakness showing up across the S&P and Nasdaq 100.
Against the past year, today's S&P 500 move sits at the 34th percentile, an unremarkable session by that measure. The Dow's 0.49% gain ranks higher, at the 71st percentile, while the Nasdaq 100's decline lands at the 20th percentile, among the more muted moves of the past twelve months for that index.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,723.55, down 12.97 points, or 0.17%, with 243 of 503 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 54,349.00, up 263.12 points, or 0.49%, with 21 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,487.79, down 245.37 points, or 0.83%, with 38 of 102 members higher.
- The two Alphabet share classes together subtracted 14.58 points from the S&P 500 and 142.24 points from the Nasdaq 100.
- Nvidia was the S&P 500's largest single contributor, adding 14.80 points on a 3.43% gain.
- Amgen was the Dow's largest contributor, adding 105.86 points on a 4.57% gain.
- Health Care was the day's strongest sector, up 1.26%, led by Eli Lilly's 4.81% gain.
- Energy was the day's weakest sector, down 2.09%, dragged down by Exxon Mobil's 1.53% decline.
- The S&P 500's move ranks at the 34th percentile of the past year, the Dow's at the 71st, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 20th.
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