The S&P 500 closed at 7,652.86, down 21.51 points, or 0.28%, on the day. Breadth told a different story than the headline number: 292 of the index's 488 members finished higher, a clear majority, which means the decline was concentrated in a small number of large names rather than reflecting broad selling.
That concentration shows up plainly in the contributor list. Nvidia took 13.96 points off the index, Micron 6.05, Broadcom 4.22, Tesla 3.65 and AMD 2.50, a chip-heavy group that outweighed gains elsewhere. On the other side, Amazon added 2.98 points, Microsoft 2.69, Alphabet's Class A 1.69, Visa 1.64 and Berkshire Hathaway's Class B 1.39. Concentration ran at 113% of the index's move, with the equal-weight version of the index up 0.08%, underscoring that this was a handful-of-stocks story rather than a market-wide one.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 53,417.16, up 140.15 points, or 0.26%, with 19 of its 30 members higher. Visa led, adding 67.58 points on a 3.06% gain, followed by UnitedHealth (51.41 points), Travelers (41.43), JPMorgan Chase (28.59) and Amgen (26.81). Caterpillar was the largest drag, subtracting 100.33 points on a 2.04% decline, with Nvidia, IBM, Boeing and Goldman Sachs also weighing. The Dow's index construction, with its heavier weight on Visa and its lighter exposure to chipmakers, kept it in positive territory on a day when the S&P 500 and the chip-heavy Nasdaq 100 both fell.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,023.18, down 285.68 points, or 0.97%, the sharpest decline of the three indexes. Breadth was negative here, with only 42 of 97 members finishing higher. Nvidia alone cost the index 146.64 points on a 2.91% drop, Micron subtracted 61.80 points on a 5.83% slide, Tesla gave back 53.35 points, Broadcom 44.77 and AMD 26.16.
The offsets came from the same megacap names that helped the S&P 500: Alphabet's two share classes together added 72.21 points, Amazon contributed 36.03, Microsoft 29.35 and Walmart 21.56. None of it was enough to counter the chip losses. Where the S&P 500 was pulled down by a minority of large decliners against a majority of advancers, the Nasdaq 100's decline was broader in both direction and magnitude, a sharper version of the same chip-driven story.
The sectors
Among the 11 sector groups, six finished higher and five lower, a split that lines up with the S&P 500's positive breadth despite its negative close.
Consumer Staples was the day's strongest sector, up 1.68%, with Walmart the top driver at a 2.69% gain. Financials followed at 1.25%, led by Visa's 3.06% move, and Utilities added 1.02%.
Technology was the weakest sector, down 1.79%, with Nvidia's 2.91% decline the largest single drag. Energy fell 0.80% behind Chevron, and Industrials dropped 0.70% on Caterpillar's slide.
None of today's index moves rank as large by this measure. The S&P 500's move sits at the 29th percentile of the past year, the Dow's at the 60th, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 19th, all well short of the 85th-percentile threshold for a large day.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,652.86, down 21.51 points, or 0.28%, with 292 of 488 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 53,417.16, up 140.15 points, or 0.26%, with 19 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,023.18, down 285.68 points, or 0.97%, with 42 of 97 members higher.
- Nvidia was the single largest drag on both the S&P 500 (-13.96 points) and the Nasdaq 100 (-146.64 points).
- Caterpillar was the Dow's biggest drag, subtracting 100.33 points on a 2.04% decline.
- Visa was the Dow's top contributor, adding 67.58 points on a 3.06% gain.
- Consumer Staples was the day's strongest sector, up 1.68%, led by Walmart.
- Technology was the day's weakest sector, down 1.79%, led lower by Nvidia.
- The S&P 500's move ranked in the 29th percentile of the past year, well below the 85th-percentile threshold for a large day.
From Babylon Burns
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