The S&P 500 closed at 7,683.69, down 59.72 points, a move of -0.77% on the day. Breadth was tilted negative, with only 162 of the index's 499 members finishing higher. Concentration was moderate at 33%, and the index's move looked mixed rather than driven by a handful of names.
Meta Platforms was the single largest drag, taking 9.21 points off the index on a 4.79% decline. Microsoft, Tesla, Apple and AMD rounded out the top five drags, each contributing between 4 and 6 points to the downside. On the other side, Nvidia added 9.96 points on a 1.68% gain, with Palo Alto Networks, Exxon Mobil, CrowdStrike and Procter & Gamble providing smaller offsets.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 51,481.51, down 347.11 points, a move of -0.67%. Breadth was narrow, with only 12 of the 30 members higher, and concentration ran hot at 68%, meaning a small group of stocks did nearly all the work. That is a sharper split than the S&P story: Goldman Sachs alone cost the index 113.94 points on a 2.05% drop, and Boeing added another 81.13 points of drag on a 6.89% decline, by far the steepest move of any name in this note. Microsoft, Salesforce and JPMorgan Chase filled out the rest of the top five drags. On the upside, Nvidia, Sherwin-Williams, Amgen, Procter & Gamble and Chevron each added between 11 and 23 points, but none of that was enough to offset the Goldman and Boeing hit.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,276.81, down 331.32 points, a move of -1.08%, the steepest percentage decline of the three indexes today. Breadth was thin, with 36 of 99 members higher, and concentration sat at 45%. The names doing the damage overlap heavily with the S&P's story but hit harder here: Meta Platforms cost the index 67.94 points, Tesla another 42.85, and Microsoft 38.19. Space Exploration Technologies and Apple rounded out the top five drags. Nvidia was again the biggest offset, adding 67.59 points on its 1.68% gain, nearly matching Meta's drag on its own, with Palo Alto Networks, ASML, CrowdStrike and Walmart contributing smaller gains. The divergence from the Dow is notable: where the Dow's pain came from Goldman Sachs and Boeing, industrial and financial names absent from the Nasdaq 100, this index's losses were concentrated almost entirely in mega-cap technology and communication names.
The sectors
Eight of the eleven sectors finished lower. The spread ran from Health Care's modest gain down to Communication Services' sharp loss, with Technology, Industrials, Financials and Consumer Discretionary all down close to a percent or more.
Health Care was the strongest sector, up 0.33%, or 0.56 points, with AbbVie the top contributor, adding 0.12 points on a 0.81% gain. It was a quiet leadership position, no single stock did much work, and the sector simply avoided the selling that hit the rest of the market.
Communication Services was the weakest sector, down 1.56%, or 1.76 points. Meta Platforms was the clear driver, subtracting 1.24 points on its 4.79% decline, the same stock that led the drag on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100.
None of today's index moves qualify as large by the payload's own measure. The S&P 500's decline sits at the 13th percentile of moves over the past year, the Dow's at the 17th, and the Nasdaq 100's also at the 17th. In plain terms, this was a below-average-magnitude down day across all three benchmarks, unremarkable against the year's range even though the day-to-day headline felt heavy.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,683.69, down 59.72 points or 0.77%, with 162 of 499 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 51,481.51, down 347.11 points or 0.67%, with only 12 of 30 members higher and concentration at 68%.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,276.81, down 331.32 points or 1.08%, the steepest percentage move of the three indexes.
- Meta Platforms was the single biggest point drag across the S&P 500, the Dow's Microsoft component, and the Nasdaq 100, falling 4.79% and costing the Nasdaq 100 67.94 points.
- Boeing's 6.89% decline was the largest single-stock percentage move in today's data, costing the Dow 81.13 points.
- Nvidia was the strongest offsetting gainer across all three indexes, adding 9.96 points to the S&P 500 and 67.59 points to the Nasdaq 100 on a 1.68% rise.
- Health Care was the day's strongest sector, up 0.33%, led by AbbVie.
- Communication Services was the day's weakest sector, down 1.56%, dragged by Meta Platforms.
- The S&P 500's move ranks at the 13th percentile of the past year, and the Dow and Nasdaq 100 both rank at the 17th percentile, indicating a below-average-magnitude session for all three.
From Babylon Burns
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