The S&P 500 closed at 7,745.06, down 40.70 points, or 0.52%. Breadth was tilted negative but not extreme, with 134 of the index's 501 members higher on the day, and concentration came in at 48%, which the payload flags as a broad-mode session even though the index finished lower.
Microsoft did the most damage, shaving 12.73 points off the index on a 3.04% decline, followed by Meta Platforms, down 3.54% for a 5.25-point hit. AMD, Amazon, and Alphabet's Class A shares rounded out the top five drags, each contributing smaller but negative amounts. On the other side, Micron added 4.79 points on an 8.88%-adjacent surge in chip equipment names, Applied Materials rose 5.55% for 2.33 points, and Sandisk jumped 8.88%, good for 2.19 points. Lam Research and Caterpillar also finished among the index's top positive contributors.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 53,459.78, down 272.63 points, or 0.51%, a headline move nearly identical in percentage terms to the S&P 500 but built on far narrower footing. Only 7 of the Dow's 30 members rose, and concentration sat at 69%, putting the index squarely in narrow mode. The equal-weighted read on the Dow fell 0.95%, worse than the headline, which points to broad weakness beneath a handful of large decliners.
Microsoft again led the drag, cutting 89.45 points from the average, with Sherwin-Williams down 2.55% for 54.44 points and McDonald's down 2.67% for 43.33 points close behind. American Express and UnitedHealth also weighed. Caterpillar was the clear offset, adding 149.48 points on a 2.94% gain, nearly enough on its own to cover Microsoft's hit, with Goldman Sachs, Amgen, Chevron, and Johnson & Johnson also finishing positive.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,995.38, down 50.76 points, or just 0.17%, the smallest percentage decline of the three indexes despite carrying the highest concentration reading at 144%. Breadth was the softest of the group, with only 36 of 102 members higher, and the equal-weighted move was a milder 0.47% decline, suggesting the index-level number understates how many names actually fell.
Microsoft and Meta again topped the drag list, cutting 42.89 and 20.42 points respectively. Alphabet's two share classes together subtracted 18.73 points from the index. Amazon added a smaller drag. What separates the Nasdaq 100's story from the S&P 500's is the presence of SpaceX at the top of the positive list, up 4.45% for 31.52 points, ahead of Micron's 17.38-point gain, Applied Materials' 8.57 points, Sandisk's 8.28 points, and ASML's 5.78 points. That chip-equipment and space cluster is what kept the Nasdaq 100's decline shallow while the Dow and S&P 500 fell by roughly three times as much on a percentage basis.
The sectors
Eleven sectors split roughly two to nine between gainers and decliners. Energy was the only sector to add more than half a percent, while Technology managed a small positive close. Industrials, Health Care, Utilities, and Materials posted modest losses, and Financials, Real Estate, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, and Communication Services all fell more than half a percent, with the last three sliding over a full point.
Energy was the day's strongest sector, up 1.1%, adding 0.68 points, with Chevron as the top driver, contributing 0.16 points on a 1.36% gain.
Communication Services was the weakest, down 1.89% and 2.13 points, with Meta Platforms as the top drag, cutting 0.70 points on its 3.54% decline.
Against the past year, the S&P 500's move today sits at the 19th percentile, the Dow's at the 21st percentile, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 40th percentile. None of the three indexes cleared the 85th-percentile bar that would mark a large move; this was an ordinary session by that measure.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,745.06, down 40.70 points, or 0.52%, on the day.
- The Dow closed at 53,459.78, down 272.63 points, or 0.51%.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,995.38, down 50.76 points, or 0.17%.
- Breadth was weakest on the Dow, where only 7 of 30 members rose, versus 134 of 501 on the S&P 500 and 36 of 102 on the Nasdaq 100.
- Microsoft was the single biggest drag across all three indexes, cutting 12.73 points from the S&P 500, 89.45 points from the Dow, and 42.89 points from the Nasdaq 100.
- Caterpillar was the Dow's biggest positive contributor, adding 149.48 points on a 2.94% gain.
- Energy was the day's strongest sector, up 1.1%, while Communication Services was the weakest, down 1.89%.
- The S&P 500's move ranks in the 19th percentile of the past year, well below the threshold for a large move.
From Babylon Burns
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