The S&P 500 closed at 7,675.70, down 1.58 points, or 0.02%, essentially unchanged on the day. Breadth was mildly positive, with 282 of the index's 497 members finishing higher, but the largest single movers ran in opposite directions and canceled each other out, leaving the index pinned near flat.
Nvidia did the most damage, falling 1.59% and cutting 4.78 points from the index. Eli Lilly was next, down 3.6% for a loss of 2.09 points. Alphabet's two share classes together subtracted 2.85 points, with GOOGL down 1.43% and GOOG down 1.23%. Tesla added another 0.72 points of drag on a 1.26% decline. On the other side, Apple gained 1.15% and contributed 2.95 points, the day's largest single addition, followed by Microsoft's 1.96 points on a 0.95% gain. Meta, Arista Networks and Palantir rounded out the positive contributors, with Arista's 5.94% jump standing out even though its index weight kept the point impact small.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 53,464.00, down 113.4 points, or 0.21%. Breadth was clearly negative here, with only 12 of 29 members higher, and the equal-weighted version of the index fell 0.34%, worse than the headline move, a sign the decline was broader under the surface than the price-weighted number suggests.
Goldman Sachs did nearly all of the damage on its own: down 1.73%, it cost the index 111.37 points, which accounts for almost the entire day's decline. IBM, Alphabet and Nvidia added further drag, down 25.83, 30.08 and 20.56 points respectively, with Merck close behind at 20.19 points on a 2.13% drop. Caterpillar was the largest offset, up 1.29% for 63.49 points, followed by Honeywell's 30.26 points on a 2.31% gain. Microsoft, UnitedHealth and Apple also finished higher. This is where the Dow's story splits from the S&P's: the same Goldman Sachs weakness barely registers in the broader index, but in a 29-name average it swamped everything else.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,224.52, up 15.29 points, or 0.05%. Breadth was negative, with only 47 of 101 members higher, another instance of a headline number decoupled from the count of winners and losers underneath it.
Apple and Microsoft led again, adding 33.53 and 22.39 points, with Space Exploration Technologies Corp contributing 14.76 points on a 1.22% gain. Meta and Palantir followed. On the downside, Nvidia was the largest single drag in this index too, cutting 53.09 points, more than ten times its dollar impact on the Dow, a reflection of how much more weight it carries here. Alphabet's two classes together removed 72.81 points, with GOOGL down 39.25 and GOOG down 33.56. Tesla and Amazon also weighed, down 11.32 and 5.44 points. The net effect: a Dow that fell on Goldman Sachs, an S&P 500 that sat still, and a Nasdaq 100 that rose slightly on the strength of the same Apple and Microsoft gains that also lifted the S&P, even as Nvidia and Alphabet pulled the other way.
The sectors
The eleven sectors spread from a 1.12% gain to a 0.98% loss, a narrow but orderly split between cyclical and defensive-adjacent groups. Industrials and Technology led, Energy and Utilities followed with smaller gains, while Financials slipped fractionally alongside Consumer Staples, Communication Services, Real Estate and Consumer Discretionary.
Industrials was the day's strongest sector, up 1.12%, with GE Vernova the top driver, up 2.91% for 0.24 points of the sector's move.
Health Care was the weakest, down 0.98%, weighed down by Eli Lilly's 3.6% drop, which alone accounted for 0.95 points of the sector's decline.
None of today's index moves stand out against the past year. The S&P 500's move sits at the 42nd percentile, the Dow's at the 31st, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 47th, all well short of the 85th-percentile mark that would qualify as a notable session.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,675.70, down 1.58 points, or 0.02%.
- The Dow closed at 53,464.00, down 113.4 points, or 0.21%, with only 12 of its 29 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,224.52, up 15.29 points, or 0.05%, despite only 47 of 101 members finishing higher.
- Goldman Sachs was the day's biggest single drag on the Dow, subtracting 111.37 points on a 1.73% decline.
- Nvidia was the S&P 500's biggest drag, cutting 4.78 points, and the Nasdaq 100's biggest drag, cutting 53.09 points.
- Apple was the S&P 500's top contributor, adding 2.95 points on a 1.15% gain.
- Industrials was the day's strongest sector, up 1.12%, led by GE Vernova's 2.91% gain.
- Health Care was the day's weakest sector, down 0.98%, dragged by Eli Lilly's 3.6% decline.
- The S&P 500's move ranked at the 42nd percentile of the past year, well below the threshold for a notable session.
From Babylon Burns
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