The S&P 500 closed at 7,670.84, down 12.85 points, a move of -0.17% on the day. Breadth was roughly split, with 201 of the index's 502 members higher. The index's concentration reading came in at 152%, and the day's mode is flagged as narrow, meaning a handful of names did the heavy lifting in both directions rather than the whole market drifting together.
Apple was the single biggest weight on the index, subtracting 13.97 points on a 2.66% decline. Nvidia (-4.17 points, -0.72%), Tesla (-1.36 points, -1.29%), Alphabet's Class A shares (-1.12 points, -0.53%), and Johnson & Johnson (-1.11 points, -1.61%) rounded out the largest drags. On the other side, Meta Platforms added 5.13 points on a 3.24% gain, and a cluster of chip equipment names followed: Broadcom added 2.68 points, Applied Materials added 1.97 points on a 5.19% jump, Micron added 1.28 points, and Lam Research added 1.18 points.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 51,350.00, down 131.51 points, or -0.26%. Breadth here was thin, with only 8 of the 30 members higher, and concentration ran at 74% in a session the payload marks as narrow. Apple was again the largest single drag, taking 53.49 points off the index on its 2.66% decline. Johnson & Johnson (-26.03 points), UnitedHealth (-17.18 points), Sherwin-Williams (-13.97 points), and Chevron (-11.83 points) added to the pressure. Caterpillar was the best offset, adding 39.76 points on an 0.82% gain, with Amgen (+32.75 points) and Boeing (+19.55 points) also helping. The Dow's weakness diverges from the broader S&P 500 in degree: its percentage loss was roughly 1.5 times the S&P's, driven by Apple's outsized weight in a price-weighted index plus the added drag from names like Sherwin-Williams that barely register in the market-cap-weighted S&P.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,339.33, up 62.52 points, or 0.21%, breaking from the Dow and the S&P 500 entirely. Breadth was split with 48 of 100 members higher, and the payload labels the session a divergence, meaning gains and losses among the largest names offset rather than moved together. Meta Platforms led with 38.15 points added, followed by Space Exploration Technologies at 33.07 points, Broadcom at 17.06 points, ASML at 15.69 points on a 3.56% gain, and Applied Materials at 12.95 points. Pulling the other way, Apple alone subtracted 84.89 points, more than offsetting the top gainers. Nvidia took off another 25.70 points, and Alphabet's two share classes together shed 29.00 points (GOOG down 14.54, GOOGL down 14.46), with Tesla off 11.77 points. The Nasdaq 100's positive close against a negative S&P 500 and Dow traces directly to Apple's outsized weight in the other two indices and to the chip equipment and Meta strength that carried more relative weight here.
The sectors
Sector performance was mixed and mostly modest. Utilities led at 1.2%, followed by Communication Services at 0.23% and Industrials at 0.22%. Real Estate was flat. On the weak side, Materials fell 0.79% and Energy fell 0.89%, the day's worst performer.
Utilities' gain of 1.2% was modest in dollar terms, adding just 0.47 points, with Constellation Energy as the top named driver, up 1.59% and contributing 0.05 points.
Energy's decline of 0.89% shaved 0.55 points off the sector, with Chevron as the top named drag, down 0.96% and subtracting 0.10 points.
None of today's index moves reach the threshold for a large move. The S&P 500's -0.17% session sits at the 36th percentile of the past year's daily moves, the Dow's -0.26% sits at the 31st percentile, and the Nasdaq 100's 0.21% gain sits at the 53rd percentile.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,670.84, down 12.85 points or -0.17%, with 201 of 502 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 51,350.00, down 131.51 points or -0.26%, with only 8 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,339.33, up 62.52 points or 0.21%, with 48 of 100 members higher.
- Apple was the single largest drag across all three indices, subtracting 13.97 points from the S&P 500, 53.49 points from the Dow, and 84.89 points from the Nasdaq 100.
- Meta Platforms was the top positive contributor to both the S&P 500 (+5.13 points) and the Nasdaq 100 (+38.15 points).
- Caterpillar was the Dow's top positive contributor, adding 39.76 points on a 0.82% gain.
- Utilities was the day's strongest sector at 1.2%, while Energy was the weakest at -0.89%.
- The S&P 500's move ranks at the 36th percentile of the past year's daily moves, well short of the 85th percentile threshold for a large move.
From Babylon Burns
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