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August 31, 2026 · market close

Nvidia and Tesla Lift the Nasdaq 100 While Alphabet and Amazon Drag the Dow and S&P 500 Lower

The S&P 500 and Dow both slipped as Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft weighed on the broad market, but the same names left the Nasdaq 100 roughly flat once Nvidia and Tesla were added back in.

The S&P 500 closed at 7,686.14, down 25.62 points, or 0.33%, on the day. Breadth leaned negative, with only 140 of the index's 502 members finishing higher. The index traded narrow, with concentration at 65%, meaning a small group of stocks accounted for most of the day's point movement.

The S&P 500 through the session

Amazon was the single largest drag, subtracting 7.11 points on a 2.5% decline. Microsoft removed another 4.99 points, off 1.22%, and Alphabet's two share classes together took off 8.45 points, with GOOGL down 2.09% and GOOG down 2.18%. Apple rounded out the detractor list, down 0.89% for a 4.49-point subtraction. On the other side, Nvidia added 8.20 points on a 1.48% gain, Tesla contributed 5.45 points after rising 5.51%, and Micron added 3.02 points on a 2.77% gain.

S&P 500 attribution map, cell size = points contributed

The Dow

The Dow closed at 53,185.90, down 374.09 points, or 0.7%, a steeper percentage decline than the S&P 500's. Breadth was thin, with just 6 of 30 components higher, and the equal-weight measure fell 0.57%.

The Dow through the session

Goldman Sachs led the drag, off 0.78% for a 48.08-point subtraction, the largest of any Dow name. Alphabet's Class A shares removed another 43.03 points and Amazon took off 39.58 points on its 2.5% slide. Microsoft and Sherwin-Williams rounded out the top five detractors, down 1.22% and 1.75% respectively. Chevron was the best performer, adding 25.44 points on a 2.12% gain, followed by Nvidia's 19.20-point contribution and Walmart's 10.58 points on a 1.73% advance. Unlike the S&P 500, where the decline was concentrated almost entirely in a handful of mega-cap tech names, the Dow's loss was broader, with an industrial paint maker and a bank both among its heaviest drags.

Dow attribution map, cell size = points contributed

The Nasdaq 100

The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,456.97, up 23.54 points, or 0.08%, essentially flat even as the S&P 500 and Dow both fell. Breadth was split, with 43 of 102 members higher.

The Nasdaq 100 through the session

Nvidia was the largest single contributor, adding 49.89 points on a 1.48% gain, and Tesla added 48.66 points after rising 5.51%. Space Exploration Technologies contributed 19.08 points on a 1.55% gain, and Micron added another 18.75 points. Those gains were nearly offset by the same names dragging the S&P 500 and Dow lower: Alphabet's two classes together removed 115.45 points, Amazon subtracted 46.10 points, and Microsoft took off 29.74 points. The Nasdaq 100's flat headline masks the sharpest internal split of the three benchmarks, with chip and electric-vehicle strength nearly canceling out a broad decline in the same mega-cap names that dragged the other two indexes down.

Nasdaq 100 attribution map, cell size = points contributed

The sectors

Ten of eleven sectors traded lower. Energy was the lone advancer, Technology held nearly flat at 0.44%, and Communication Services led the declines. The spread across sectors echoes the day's stock-level story, with a small pocket of strength offsetting broad softness elsewhere.

The 11 sectors by move, top contributor named

Energy was the day's strongest sector, up 2% and adding 1.26 points to its ETF's price. Exxon Mobil was the top driver, contributing 0.33 points on a 2.73% gain.

Energy: what moved it

Communication Services was the weakest sector, down 1.34% and off 1.51 points. Take-Two Interactive was the top drag, subtracting 0.33 points on a 6.67% decline.

Communication Services: what moved it

None of today's index moves rank as large by the payload's own measure. The S&P 500's decline sits at the 27th percentile of the past year's daily moves, the Dow's at the 14th percentile, and the Nasdaq 100's near-flat session at the 48th percentile. All three fall well short of the 85th-percentile threshold that would mark a large move.

The numbers

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Compiled by the WMTMT attribution engine from the session's official data · built by the founders of Babylon Burns