The S&P 500 closed at 7,704.13, down 1.90 points, a move of -0.02% on the day. Breadth was tilted positive but unremarkable, with 175 of the index's 502 members higher. The index's move sat at the 44th percentile against the past year, squarely in ordinary territory.
The pull lower came from the usual mega-cap names: NVIDIA shed 1.53 points, Broadcom 1.51, Microsoft 1.34, Apple 1.09, and Walmart 0.91 after a 2.66% decline. Offsetting that, Meta Platforms added 4.78 points on a 4.5% gain, the single largest contribution in the index. Alphabet Class A added 1.77 points, Eli Lilly 1.72, AMD 1.58, and Intel 1.55.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 51,350.00, down 161.59 points, or 0.31%. Breadth was thin, with only 13 of 30 components higher, and concentration ran at 95%, meaning the day's move traced almost entirely to a short list of stocks. The equal-weighted version of the index fell 0.26%, and the move landed at the 30th percentile, a quiet day relative to the year.
Goldman Sachs did the most damage, off 77.68 points on a 1.4% decline. Caterpillar subtracted 40.24 points, Sherwin-Williams 36.02, IBM 33.88 after a 2.45% drop, and Home Depot 26.98. On the other side, Visa added 38.4 points, Alphabet 26.92, UnitedHealth 22.11, American Express 21.99, and Disney 12.48. This is where the Dow's story splits from the S&P's: the index-level drag came from financials and industrials rather than the chip and software names weighing on the broader market.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,478.86, up 8.57 points, or 0.03%, with breadth at 33 of 100 members higher. The move ranked at the 47th percentile, near the middle of the year's range.
Meta led with 13.15 points added, and Alphabet's two share classes together contributed 16.14 points, GOOGL adding 8.54 and GOOG adding 7.6. Intel added 3.9 points and AMD 3.69. Pulling against that: Arm Holdings lost 4.3 points on a 7.88% decline, Walmart 3.59, NVIDIA 3.45, Broadcom 3.41, and Microsoft 3.04. The divergence from the Dow is direct: the same chip and mega-cap tech names that dragged on the Nasdaq were absent from the Dow's worst performers, while Meta and Alphabet did the lifting here that Visa and UnitedHealth did for the Dow.
The sectors
Eleven sectors split into a clear top and bottom. Communication Services led with a 1.27% gain, followed by Health Care at 0.65% and Energy at 0.38%. Financials were flat at -0.01%. From there the rest of the market leaned negative: Consumer Discretionary fell 0.29%, Technology 0.34%, Real Estate 0.43%, Industrials 0.73%, Consumer Staples 0.87%, Utilities 0.94%, and Materials 1.17%.
Communication Services was the day's strongest sector, adding 1.43 points, with Meta Platforms supplying 1.11 of that on its 4.5% advance.
Materials was the weakest, down 0.59 points, with Newmont the top drag at -0.07 points on a 1.84% decline.
None of the three major indices moved by an amount that stands out against the past year. The S&P 500's move ranked at the 44th percentile, the Dow's at the 30th, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 47th, all comfortably inside the ordinary range of daily activity.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,704.13, down 1.90 points, a move of -0.02%, with 175 of 502 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 51,350.00, down 161.59 points, a move of -0.31%, with only 13 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,478.86, up 8.57 points, a move of 0.03%, with 33 of 100 members higher.
- The Dow's move showed 95% concentration, meaning a small handful of stocks drove nearly the entire index move.
- Meta Platforms was the single largest positive contributor across the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, adding 4.78 and 13.15 points respectively on a 4.5% gain.
- Goldman Sachs was the Dow's biggest drag, subtracting 77.68 points on a 1.4% decline.
- Communication Services was the day's strongest sector, up 1.27%, while Materials was the weakest, down 1.17%.
- The S&P 500's move ranked at the 44th percentile against the past year, an ordinary session by historical standards.
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