The S&P 500 closed at 7,801.77, down 17.16 points, a move of -0.22% on the day. Breadth was mixed but tilted positive, with 133 of the index's 484 members higher. Concentration sat at 68% in narrow mode, meaning a small group of names did most of the work in both directions.
That work was split almost evenly. NVIDIA shaved 4.72 points off the index and Meta Platforms took off another 4.34, with Caterpillar, CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks rounding out the drag. On the other side, Micron Technology added 5.04 points, Apple added 4.81, Amazon added 3.84, Eli Lilly added 2.64 and Alphabet added 1.80. The net effect was a session that moved almost nowhere.
The Dow
The Dow told a sharper story, closing at 51,180.00, down 341.28 points, a move of -0.66%. Only 10 of its 29 members finished higher, and concentration ran hot at 118% in narrow mode, a sign that one name overwhelmed the rest.
That name was Caterpillar, which fell 5.75% and alone subtracted 301.95 points, nearly the entire index decline. Goldman Sachs, Sherwin-Williams, Honeywell and Chevron added smaller drags. Amgen offset some of the damage with a 2.6% gain worth 63.68 points, and Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, Apple and Alphabet each chipped in positive points. The divergence from the S&P 500 is simple: Caterpillar's weight in the Dow turned a modest decliner into the day's clearest loser.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 31,160.08, down 64.61 points, a move of -0.21%, with 36 of its 98 members higher. Concentration measured 314% in narrow mode, the most lopsided reading of the three indexes.
Space Exploration Technologies led the drag, down 2.51% for a loss of 81.33 points, followed by Meta Platforms at -62.08 and NVIDIA at -59.17. CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks added further weight on the downside. Offsetting that, Micron Technology gained 66.48 points on a 4.06% move, Apple added 61.54, and Amazon added 54.31. Alphabet's two share classes together added 95.00 points, GOOGL and GOOG combining to nearly match Micron's single-stock contribution. Unlike the Dow, where one stock explained the whole move, the Nasdaq 100's decline and its recovery effort were both spread across several names.
The sectors
Across the eleven sectors, only two closed higher. Health Care led at +1.02%, Utilities was flat at +0.01%, and everything else slipped, with Industrials and Materials posting the steepest declines of the day.
Health Care was the day's strongest sector, up 1.02% for a gain of 1.71 points, with Eli Lilly contributing 0.67 points on a 2.68% move.
Industrials was the weakest, down 2.16% for a loss of 3.70 points, almost entirely a function of Caterpillar, which subtracted 0.76 points on its 5.75% decline, the same stock that defined the Dow's session.
None of today's index moves qualify as large by the payload's own measure. The S&P 500's move sits in the 34th percentile of the past year, the Dow's in the 17th, and the Nasdaq 100's in the 39th. This was a session defined by one stock's weight inside one index, not by any broad market shift.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,801.77, down 17.16 points, a move of -0.22%, with 133 of 484 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 51,180.00, down 341.28 points, a move of -0.66%, with only 10 of 29 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 31,160.08, down 64.61 points, a move of -0.21%, with 36 of 98 members higher.
- Caterpillar was the day's single biggest drag, subtracting 301.95 points from the Dow alone on a 5.75% decline.
- Micron Technology was the day's largest positive contributor, adding 66.48 points to the Nasdaq 100 on a 4.06% gain.
- Health Care was the strongest sector, up 1.02%, led by Eli Lilly's 2.68% move.
- Industrials was the weakest sector, down 2.16%, dragged down by Caterpillar's decline.
- The S&P 500's move ranks in the 34th percentile of the past year, the Dow's in the 17th, and the Nasdaq 100's in the 39th, all well below the threshold for a large move.
From Babylon Burns
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