The S&P 500 finished the session at 7,805.45, slipping 1.79 points, a decline of 0.02 percent. Underneath that near-flat headline, breadth leaned positive, with 255 of the index's 491 members closing higher. Equal-weighted performance for the index came in at 0.05 percent, a touch above the cap-weighted result, consistent with a day where a handful of large, offsetting moves canceled each other out.
The index's two biggest drags came from the chip side: Micron took away 2.34 points on a 3.62 percent drop, and Applied Materials followed with a 1.58-point hit on a 6.69 percent slide. Johnson & Johnson subtracted 2.15 points after falling 5.73 percent, and Citigroup and Caterpillar rounded out the top detractors. On the other side, Nvidia added 2.93 points on a 0.97 percent gain, and Meta Platforms contributed 2.33 points after rising 2.63 percent. Advanced Micro Devices, Microsoft, and Broadcom also pushed higher, together keeping the index's net move close to zero.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 51,670.00, down 180.55 points, a decline of 0.35 percent. Breadth was weaker than the S&P 500's, with only 15 of 30 components higher, and the equal-weighted Dow fell 0.19 percent, a smaller drop than the price-weighted index. Concentration ran at 153 percent, meaning the index's top movers swung by more than the whole index itself, a sign of a stock-specific day rather than a broad one.
Caterpillar did the damage, down 158.52 points on a 3.34 percent decline, more than the entire index's loss by itself. Johnson & Johnson added another 89.75 points of drag after its 5.73 percent fall, with Amgen, Merck, and Boeing also lower. Visa was the best performer, up 40.65 points on a 1.76 percent gain, and Salesforce, Sherwin-Williams, IBM, and Home Depot all advanced as well, but none came close to offsetting Caterpillar and Johnson & Johnson. This is where the Dow's story splits from the S&P 500's: the same Johnson & Johnson decline that cost the broader index 2.15 points cost the price-weighted Dow 89.75, and Caterpillar barely registers in the S&P 500 math while it dominates the Dow's.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,569.48, down 95.22 points, a decline of 0.31 percent. Breadth was the weakest of the three indices, with 43 of 99 members higher, and the equal-weighted index fell 0.41 percent. Concentration reached 255 percent, the highest reading of the day, underscoring how a small number of names drove the index's move in both directions.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. was the single largest drag, subtracting 141.36 points on a 4.21 percent decline, more than the entire index's net move. Micron and Applied Materials repeated their roles from the S&P 500, costing 61.40 and 39.99 points respectively, with ASML and Tesla also lower. Nvidia offset some of that, adding 80.26 points on its 0.97 percent gain, and Meta Platforms added 75.36 points. Advanced Micro Devices, Microsoft, and Alphabet also contributed positively. Where the Nasdaq 100 diverges from the S&P 500 is scale: the same Nvidia and Meta gains that nudged the broad index are large enough here to nearly cancel out a steep Space Exploration Technologies decline, but not quite.
The sectors
Across the eleven sectors, results were split, with five higher and six lower. Energy led with a 1.76 percent gain, followed by Communication Services at 0.73 percent and Materials at 0.53 percent. Health Care was the weakest, down 1.31 percent, with Financials and Industrials also lower.
Energy's gain came with Exxon Mobil listed as the top driver, adding 0.19 points on a 1.16 percent rise, in line with the sector's own move. The rest of the sector's advance came from names spread across the group rather than one dominant mover.
Health care's decline was far more concentrated. Johnson & Johnson alone subtracted 1.01 points from the sector, consistent with the 5.73 percent drop that also weighed on the Dow and the S&P 500. That single stock accounted for nearly half of the sector's total point loss of 2.25.
None of the day's three index moves stood out against the past year. The S&P 500's move sits at the 44th percentile of the past year, the Dow's at the 29th, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 34th, all ordinary sessions by historical standards even as individual names like Caterpillar, Johnson & Johnson, and Space Exploration Technologies moved sharply on their own.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,805.45, down 1.79 points, a move of -0.02 percent.
- S&P 500 breadth was positive, with 255 of 491 members higher on the day.
- The Dow closed at 51,670.00, down 180.55 points, a decline of 0.35 percent, with only 15 of 30 components higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 30,569.48, down 95.22 points, a decline of 0.31 percent, with 43 of 99 members higher.
- Caterpillar was the day's biggest single drag, subtracting 158.52 points from the Dow on a 3.34 percent decline.
- Nvidia was the day's biggest positive driver in the Nasdaq 100, adding 80.26 points on a 0.97 percent gain.
- Energy was the strongest sector, up 1.76 percent, while Health Care was the weakest, down 1.31 percent.
- The S&P 500's move ranks in the 44th percentile of the past year, the Dow's in the 29th, and the Nasdaq 100's in the 34th.
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