The S&P 500 closed at 7,764.64, down just 0.06 points, a move of 0% on the day. Breadth was split, with 248 of the index's 498 members finishing higher, and the equal-weighted version of the index edged up 0.02%. The session sits in the 46th percentile against the past year, an ordinary day by the index's own recent standards.
Underneath the flat headline, the index's largest single-stock effects pulled in opposite directions. Amazon.com subtracted 4.14 points as shares fell 1.34%. JPMorgan Chase took off 3.97 points after a 3.42% decline, followed by Microsoft (-3.29 points, -0.73%), Alphabet's Class A shares (-2.71 points, -1.07%) and Cisco Systems, down 4.5% for a 2.48-point hit. Offsetting that pressure, Micron Technology added 6.73 points on a 5% gain, with Nvidia (+4.3 points), SanDisk (+1.97 points), Advanced Micro Devices (+1.59 points) and Walmart (+1.4 points) rounding out the top of the ledger.
The Dow
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 51,864.00, down 184.83 points, or 0.36%. Breadth was thin, with only 12 of the average's 30 members advancing, and concentration hit 100%, meaning the day's move traces almost entirely to the index's largest point movers. The session sits in the 29th percentile versus the past year.
JPMorgan Chase was again the single biggest point-taker, subtracting 71.56 points on its 3.42% decline, the same stock that weighed on the S&P 500. Goldman Sachs took off another 58.84 points (-1.03%), followed by Travelers (-54.21 points, -2.46%), American Express (-50.64 points, -2.72%) and Caterpillar (-50.46 points, -1.04%). Amgen was the lone standout, adding 101.52 points on a 4.34% jump, with Home Depot (+48.44 points), Sherwin-Williams (+41.84 points), Honeywell (+31.92 points) and 3M (+25.74 points) also higher. The divergence from the S&P 500 is straightforward: the Dow's financial-heavy makeup let JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs drag the price-weighted average down even as the broader index found offsetting strength in chipmakers the Dow barely holds.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,732.40, up 250.05 points, or 0.82%, the strongest showing of the three indexes and the only one with a percentile reading above the middle of its range, at 75. Breadth was positive but not broad, with 71 of 99 members higher and concentration at 83%, keeping the advance narrow even as the index rose.
Micron Technology led, adding 91.07 points on its 5% gain. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. added 60.18 points (+1.89%), Nvidia contributed 55.47 points (+0.66%), Walmart added 32.85 points (+2.49%) and SanDisk added 27.23 points on a 6.82% gain. The other side of the ledger was dominated by two Alphabet share classes: Class A shares subtracted 71.98 points and Class C shares subtracted another 65.37 points; the two Alphabet classes together took 137.35 points off the index. Amazon.com cost 57.82 points, Microsoft cost 42.1 points and Cisco Systems cost 30.57 points. This is where the Nasdaq 100 story splits from the S&P 500's flat read: Micron and Nvidia's strength outweighed the same Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft declines that only modestly dented the broader, more diversified S&P 500.
The sectors
Sector performance split cleanly along growth-versus-value lines. Materials led at +1.65%, followed by Consumer Staples (+0.98%) and Technology (+0.72%). Financials brought up the rear at -1.99%, with Energy (-1.12%) and Communication Services (-1.07%) also lower.
Materials was the day's strongest sector, adding 0.82 points as a group, led by Newmont Corp, which contributed 0.12 points on a 3.49% gain.
Financials was the weakest sector, down 1.99% and subtracting 1.11 points, with JPMorgan Chase as the top drag, costing the sector 0.23 points on its 3.42% decline, the same stock that weighed on both the S&P 500 and the Dow.
None of today's three headline indexes reached the 85th percentile threshold that would mark them as unusually large. The Nasdaq 100's 75th percentile reading came closest. The S&P 500 sat at the 46th percentile and the Dow at the 29th, both closer to a typical day than an outlier one.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,764.64, down 0.06 points, a move of 0% on the day.
- Breadth on the S&P 500 was mixed, with 248 of 498 members higher.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 51,864.00, down 184.83 points, or 0.36%.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,732.40, up 250.05 points, or 0.82%, sitting in the 75th percentile against the past year.
- JPMorgan Chase was the single largest drag on both the S&P 500 and the Dow, falling 3.42%.
- Micron Technology was the day's biggest single-stock contributor to the Nasdaq 100, adding 91.07 points on a 5% gain.
- Materials was the strongest sector, up 1.65%, while Financials was the weakest, down 1.99%.
- The Dow's move sat in the 29th percentile versus the past year, and the S&P 500's sat in the 46th.
From Babylon Burns
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