The S&P 500 closed at 7,636.36, down 37.16 points, or 0.48%. Just 97 of the index's 500 members finished higher, a lopsided tally for a decline this shallow, and the equal-weight version of the index fell 0.96%, roughly twice the headline's percentage loss.
The drag came from the usual mega-cap names. NVIDIA cost 5.63 points, Amazon 5.09, and Broadcom 2.24. Alphabet's two share classes together subtracted 8.94 points, the largest combined hit in the index. Offsetting that, Meta Platforms added 9.26 points on a 6.55% gain, the single biggest point swing in either direction, with Micron, AMD, Exxon and Intel also finishing green.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 52,381.00, down 405.07 points, or 0.77%, with only 4 of its 28 members finishing higher. The equal-weight move of negative 0.79% sat almost on top of the headline number, a sign this was a broad decline rather than one driven by a handful of stocks.
UnitedHealth led the drag, off 49.73 points on a 1.92% drop, with Alphabet close behind at negative 49.7. Goldman Sachs, Caterpillar and Sherwin-Williams each subtracted more than 34 points apiece. IBM was the lone bright spot of size, up 50.79 points on a 3.4% gain, with Chevron adding 25.85 and JPMorgan and Cisco contributing smaller gains. Unlike the S&P and Nasdaq, the Dow has no Meta to lean on, so there was nothing to offset the broad selling and the index posted the day's steepest percentage loss of the three.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,421.55, down 86.15 points, or 0.29%, the smallest percentage decline of the three indexes even though its concentration reading of 78% is by far the highest. Only 23 of its 101 members finished higher, and the equal-weight move of negative 0.78% shows breadth was considerably weaker than the headline number implies.
Alphabet's two classes together cost this index 46.67 points, its heaviest combined drag by far, and Space Exploration Technologies subtracted another 20.84 points, a name that does not appear in either the S&P or Dow contributor lists. NVIDIA and Amazon also weighed. Meta's gain was worth 26.57 points here, roughly three times its S&P point contribution, and that alone offset most of the Alphabet and SpaceX drag, which is why the Nasdaq's headline loss came in smaller than the S&P's despite carrying the heavier mega-cap selling.
The sectors
Nine of the eleven sectors finished lower. Technology was essentially flat at 0.03%, and Energy was the only sector to post a clear gain. The rest ranged from small losses in Health Care and Financials down to a full point and a half lower in Industrials.
Energy rose 0.83%, led by Exxon Mobil's 2.24% gain, which contributed 0.28 points to the sector's move.
Industrials fell 1.50%, the day's weakest sector, dragged down by Vertiv Holdings, which fell 9.63% and subtracted 0.37 points on its own.
Against the past year, none of today's index moves stand out as unusual. The S&P 500's decline sits at the 21st percentile, the Dow's at the 15th, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 35th, all well short of the threshold for a notable session.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,636.36, down 37.16 points, or 0.48%, with 97 of 500 members finishing higher.
- The Dow closed at 52,381.00, down 405.07 points, or 0.77%, with only 4 of 28 members finishing higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,421.55, down 86.15 points, or 0.29%, with 23 of 101 members finishing higher.
- Meta Platforms was the day's biggest single driver, adding 9.26 points to the S&P 500 and 26.57 points to the Nasdaq 100 on a 6.55% gain.
- Alphabet's two share classes combined were the S&P 500's biggest drag at 8.94 points and the Nasdaq 100's biggest drag at 46.67 points.
- UnitedHealth was the Dow's biggest drag, subtracting 49.73 points on a 1.92% drop.
- Energy was the day's strongest sector, up 0.83%, led by Exxon Mobil's 2.24% gain.
- Industrials was the day's weakest sector, down 1.50%, dragged by Vertiv Holdings' 9.63% decline.
- The S&P 500's move ranks at the 21st percentile of the past year, the Dow's at the 15th, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 35th.
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