The S&P 500 closed at 7,718.60, down 29.11 points, or 0.38%, on the day. Breadth was negative, with just 175 of the index's 503 members finishing higher. Concentration ran high at 93%, and the index's equal weight version fell 0.43%, a steeper drop than the headline number, telling you the losses were spread beyond the largest names even if the point tally centered on a handful of stocks.
Apple did the most damage, subtracting 12.49 points on a 2.51% decline. Microsoft followed with a 7.95 point drag on a 2.04% drop, and Tesla knocked off 6.71 points as it fell 5.92%. Alphabet's Class A shares and Palantir rounded out the top five detractors. On the other side, Micron added 6.25 points after jumping 6.1%, with Nvidia, AMD, Sandisk and Intel also finishing in the green and offsetting some of the damage from the megacap decliners.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 53,414.00, down 272.11 points, or 0.51%. Breadth was thin, with only 10 of 30 components higher, and the equal weight measure fell 0.62%, confirming this was a broad-based down day inside a narrow index. Microsoft was the single biggest drag, subtracting 61.93 points, with Apple close behind at 48.98 points. Amgen, Salesforce and Travelers rounded out the top five decliners.
Caterpillar was the story on the other side of the ledger, adding 81.01 points on a 1.7% gain, nearly offsetting the damage from the tech-heavy decliners by itself. Home Depot, Honeywell, Nvidia and Boeing also contributed positively. The divergence from the S&P 500 here is one of degree: the same names (Apple, Microsoft) drove the loss, but Caterpillar's outsized Dow weighting gave the blue-chip index a bigger single offsetting force than anything available to the broader index.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,544.15, up 61.83 points, or 0.21%, the lone index among the three to finish positive. Breadth was split, with 44 of 102 members higher, and concentration measured 152% in divergence mode, meaning gainers and losers were both large enough to mostly cancel out rather than move together.
Micron led all contributors with 42.14 points on its 6.1% jump, followed by Nvidia, AMD, Sandisk and ASML, all chip-related names posting solid gains. But Apple subtracted 76.79 points here, its largest drag of the day across any index, with Tesla, Microsoft and both share classes of Alphabet also weighing. The Nasdaq 100 story diverges sharply from the S&P 500 and Dow: the same Apple, Microsoft and Tesla declines that pulled those indexes down were more than offset by a chip rally concentrated enough to flip the index positive.
The sectors
Sector performance split along familiar lines. Technology led with a 0.72% gain, Industrials added 0.39%, and Utilities squeaked out a 0.06% gain. From there it was red across the board: Materials fell 0.33%, Real Estate dropped 0.76%, Consumer Staples fell 0.77%, Financials lost 0.79%, Energy fell 0.85%, Health Care dropped 1.04%, Communication Services fell 1.17%, and Consumer Discretionary brought up the rear at down 1.34%.
Technology was the day's strongest sector, gaining 0.72% with Micron as its top driver, adding 0.52 points on that same 6.1% move that lifted the Nasdaq 100.
Consumer Discretionary was the weakest sector, down 1.34%, with Tesla as its primary drag, subtracting 1.21 points on its 5.92% decline, the single largest sector-level driver of the day in either direction.
None of today's index moves were large by the payload's own standard. The S&P 500's decline sits at the 24th percentile of moves over the past year, the Dow's at the 23rd percentile, and the Nasdaq 100's gain at the 52nd percentile, all well short of the 85th percentile threshold. This was a session of ordinary size, with a clear split between megacap tech and Tesla losses on one side and a chip-driven bid on the other.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,718.60, down 29.11 points, or 0.38%, with 175 of 503 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 53,414.00, down 272.11 points, or 0.51%, with only 10 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,544.15, up 61.83 points, or 0.21%, with 44 of 102 members higher.
- Apple was the S&P 500's biggest drag, subtracting 12.49 points on a 2.51% decline.
- Micron was the Nasdaq 100's biggest driver, adding 42.14 points on a 6.1% gain.
- Caterpillar was the Dow's biggest positive contributor, adding 81.01 points on a 1.7% gain.
- Technology was the day's strongest sector, up 0.72%, while Consumer Discretionary was the weakest, down 1.34%.
- The S&P 500's move ranks in the 24th percentile of the past year, indicating an unremarkable session by historical standards.
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