The S&P 500 closed at 7,677.28, up 24.42 points, or 0.32%, on the day. Breadth was unimpressive for a positive session: 207 of the index's 503 members finished higher, and the equal-weight version of the index actually fell 0.09%. That split is the story of the day: the average stock lost ground while a small group of large names carried the cap-weighted benchmark up.
Nvidia did the heaviest lifting, adding 13.77 points on a 2.19% gain, the single largest contribution in the index. AMD added 4.43 points on a 4.91% move, Microsoft added 4.12, Micron 3.15, and Meta Platforms 3.02. On the other side, Exxon Mobil subtracted 1.85 points on a 2.09% decline, the index's biggest drag, followed by Eli Lilly, Amazon, Broadcom, and Palo Alto Networks, each pulling back roughly a point or more.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 53,577.00, up 159.84 points, or 0.3%. Breadth split exactly down the middle at 15 of 30 members higher, a coin flip that sits oddly under a positive close. Concentration ran to 123%, meaning the winners contributed more points than the index's net move, with decliners offsetting the rest.
Goldman Sachs alone added 135.1 points on a 2.19% gain, more than the Dow's entire advance by itself. Merck added 34.41 points on a 3.84% rise, and Nvidia and Microsoft, both Dow components, added 27.16 and 26.15 points respectively. Sherwin-Williams added 21.93. On the downside, McDonald's subtracted 26.45 points, Salesforce 19.91, Chevron 18.9, UnitedHealth 12.96, and Amgen 9.51. Unlike the S&P, where the average stock lagged, the Dow's equal-weight measure rose 0.06%, a small but real divergence from the broader index's internal weakness.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,209.23, up 186.05 points, or 0.64%, the largest percentage move of the three indexes today. Breadth was 52 of 102 members higher, and concentration ran lower than the Dow's at 75%.
Nvidia added 82.67 points here, its largest single contribution across any of the three indexes today. Space Exploration Technologies added 29.93 points on a 2.19% gain, AMD 27.38 on a 4.91% move, Microsoft 24.42, and Meta 21. On the downside, Alphabet's two share classes together subtracted 21.49 points, with GOOG down 11.43 and GOOGL down 10.06. Amazon subtracted 8.14, Broadcom 7.18, and Palo Alto Networks 6.7. The Nasdaq's equal-weight gauge rose 0.36%, stronger than either the S&P's decline or the Dow's flat reading, and its move sits at the 68th percentile of the past year, higher than the other two indexes but still well short of a large move.
The sectors
The eleven sectors spread from a 0.96% gain in Technology to a 1.65% loss in Energy, with Communication Services (0.76%) and Health Care (0.34%) also positive, and Consumer Staples (-1.07%), Industrials (-0.34%), and Consumer Discretionary (-0.3%) among the laggards.
Technology was the day's strongest sector, up 0.96% and adding 1.73 points, with Nvidia contributing 0.57 points on its 2.19% gain as the sector's top driver.
Energy was the weakest, down 1.65% and off 1.04 points, dragged lower by Exxon Mobil, which subtracted 0.27 points on a 2.09% decline. Consumer Staples was close behind at -1.07%, with Target down 3.79% as that sector's top driver.
Against the past year, none of today's three benchmark moves qualify as large. The S&P 500's and Dow's gains each sit at the 63rd percentile of days over the past year, and the Nasdaq 100's sits at the 68th, all short of the 85th-percentile bar that separates an ordinary session from a large one.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,677.28, up 24.42 points, or 0.32%, with 207 of 503 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 53,577.00, up 159.84 points, or 0.3%, with breadth split exactly 15 to 15.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,209.23, up 186.05 points, or 0.64%, the largest percentage gain of the three indexes.
- Nvidia was the day's biggest driver, adding 82.67 points to the Nasdaq 100, 27.16 points to the Dow, and 13.77 points to the S&P 500.
- Exxon Mobil was the S&P 500's and Energy sector's biggest drag, subtracting 1.85 points from the S&P 500 and 0.27 points from XLE on a 2.09% decline.
- Technology was the day's strongest sector, up 0.96%, led by Nvidia's 0.57-point contribution.
- Energy was the day's weakest sector, down 1.65%, led lower by Exxon Mobil.
- The S&P 500's move ranks at the 63rd percentile of days over the past year, below the 85th-percentile threshold for a large move.
From Babylon Burns
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