The S&P 500 closed at 7,663.43, down 93.74 points, a decline of 1.21 percent. Breadth did not match the headline number: 326 of the index's 491 members finished higher. The index fell anyway because the move was concentrated, with concentration running at 53 percent for the day. An equal-weight version of the index actually gained 0.75 percent over the same session, which is the clearest sign that today's decline sat in a small group of large names rather than across the market.
Nvidia did the most damage, subtracting 25.48 points on a 4.4 percent decline. Amazon took away another 12.72 points on a 4.57 percent drop, Meta Platforms fell 6.98 percent for a loss of 11.9 points, Microsoft shed 9.3 points on a 2.23 percent decline, and Advanced Micro Devices dropped 8.1 percent, costing the index 8.21 points. On the other side of the ledger, Apple added 6.29 points on a 1.23 percent gain, and Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Berkshire Hathaway each contributed smaller gains.
The Dow
The Dow finished essentially flat, closing at 52,868.00, up 11.91 points, a gain of 0.02 percent, with 20 of its 30 members higher. Caterpillar alone subtracted 214.92 points on a 4.89 percent decline, which more than offset a strong day from the index's winners. Home Depot added 80.77 points on a 4.33 percent gain, Johnson & Johnson rose 3.81 percent for 58.43 points, Amgen contributed 53.14 points, Procter & Gamble gained 5.58 percent worth 52.01 points, and Salesforce rose 3.52 percent for 50.58 points. This is where the Dow's story splits from the S&P's: Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and Amgen were among its best performers even as they barely register among the S&P's largest movers, while Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet weighed on both benchmarks at once.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 28,958.69, down 863.83 points, a decline of 2.9 percent, with only 47 of its 97 members higher. Nvidia again led the drags, subtracting 141.89 points on a 4.4 percent decline. Space Exploration Technologies Corp fell 9.14 percent, costing the index 119.21 points, and Amazon's 4.57 percent drop took away another 78.01 points. Alphabet's two share classes together subtracted 152.94 points, GOOGL down 3.15 percent for 77.76 points and GOOG down 3.08 percent for 75.18 points, a combined hit larger than Nvidia's alone. Apple was the clearest offset, adding 37.24 points on a 1.23 percent gain, with Walmart, Costco, Netflix and Palo Alto Networks also finishing higher. The Nasdaq 100's decline was sharper and more broadly distributed among its mega-cap names than the S&P's, which leaned more heavily on Nvidia and Amazon by themselves.
The sectors
Six of the eleven sectors finished higher and five finished lower, with Consumer Staples at the top of the board and Technology at the bottom. Utilities, Health Care, Real Estate, Financials and Materials all posted modest gains, while Consumer Discretionary, Energy, Industrials and Communication Services joined Technology on the losing side.
Consumer Staples rose 3.29 percent, adding 2.87 points, with Procter & Gamble's 5.58 percent gain contributing 0.39 points as the sector's top driver.
Technology fell 3.27 percent, the session's worst showing, losing 6.17 points. Nvidia's 4.4 percent decline was the sector's largest single drag, subtracting 1.22 points on its own.
Measured against the past year, today's moves were not unusual by the payload's own scale. The S&P 500's decline sits in the 7th percentile, the Dow's near-flat session sits in the 47th percentile, and the Nasdaq 100's drop registers in the 1st percentile. None of these clears the threshold for a large move by that measure, even with the Nasdaq 100 down nearly 3 percent on the day.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,663.43, down 93.74 points, a decline of 1.21 percent.
- Breadth on the S&P 500 was positive even as the index fell, with 326 of 491 members higher and concentration at 53 percent.
- The Dow closed at 52,868.00, up 11.91 points, a gain of 0.02 percent, with 20 of 30 members higher.
- Caterpillar was the Dow's biggest single drag, subtracting 214.92 points on a 4.89 percent decline.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 28,958.69, down 863.83 points, a decline of 2.9 percent, with 47 of 97 members higher.
- Nvidia was the single largest points drag across indexes, costing the Nasdaq 100 141.89 points and the S&P 500 25.48 points.
- Consumer Staples was the day's strongest sector, up 3.29 percent; Technology was the weakest, down 3.27 percent.
- The S&P 500's move ranks in the 7th percentile of the past year, the Dow's in the 47th percentile, and the Nasdaq 100's in the 1st percentile.
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