The S&P 500 closed at 7,541.40, down 38.67 points, a decline of 0.51 percent. Breadth told a different story than the headline number: 342 of the index's 497 members finished higher. The equal-weight version of the index was up 0.68 percent for the day, meaning the median stock in the S&P 500 had a positive session while the index itself fell.
That gap is explained by a short list of large stocks. Microsoft took out 11.42 points on a 2.83 percent decline, Apple took out 9.48 points on a 1.83 percent decline, and AMD, Nvidia, and Micron rounded out the five biggest drags, with AMD falling 7.52 percent and Micron falling 5.78 percent. On the other side, Amazon added 5.13 points on a 2.2 percent gain, Berkshire Hathaway added 2.65 points, and Visa, Walmart, and Mastercard each contributed between 1.6 and 2 points. The index's concentration reading of 72 percent shows how much of the day's math ran through a small number of names.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 51,983.98, up 213.67 points, a gain of 0.41 percent, with 17 of its 30 members higher on the day. That is the clearest divergence from the S&P 500 story: the same Microsoft decline that weighed on the broader market was present here too, costing the Dow 87.91 points, but it was outweighed by gains elsewhere.
Sherwin-Williams led, adding 118.04 points on a 5.97 percent jump, followed by Home Depot's 71.14 points and Visa's 70.97 points. American Express and McDonald's each added more than 40 points. On the losing side, Caterpillar, Chevron, UnitedHealth, and Apple joined Microsoft as drags, with Chevron down 3.26 percent. The Dow's concentration reading of 122 percent reflects how much the gainers and decliners offset each other before netting to a modest advance.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 27,989.82, down 395.03 points, a decline of 1.39 percent, the steepest of the three indexes today. Breadth was roughly split, with 52 of 100 members higher, but the equal-weight version of the index was still down 0.6 percent, so the decline was not purely a function of a few large names; it had some breadth to it as well, just far less than what showed up in the S&P 500.
The drag here came almost entirely from the same technology names seen in the S&P 500, scaled up by weighting. Microsoft cost the index 94.28 points, Apple 79.05 points, Nvidia 53.37 points, and AMD 53.19 points on its 7.52 percent slide. Micron added another 49.68 points of drag on a 5.78 percent decline. Against that, Amazon added 48.88 points, Walmart added 28.47 points on a 3.38 percent gain, and Tesla and Costco each contributed smaller positive amounts.
The sectors
Eight of eleven sectors finished higher. Consumer Discretionary led at 2.39 percent, followed by Financials at 1.82 percent and Materials at 1.73 percent. Technology and Energy were the only sectors with losses of note, down 2.94 percent and 3.93 percent respectively.
Consumer Discretionary's gain was led by Amazon, which contributed 0.55 points to the sector on its 2.2 percent advance. The sector's strength lined up with the gains seen in Amazon and Walmart elsewhere in the session.
Energy was the weakest sector by a wide margin, down 3.93 percent, with Exxon Mobil the largest drag, subtracting 0.68 points on a 4.01 percent decline.
Measured against the past year, today's moves were unremarkable in size. The S&P 500's decline sits at the 21st percentile of daily moves, the Nasdaq 100's decline at the 14th percentile, and the Dow's gain at the 68th percentile. None of today's index moves qualify as large by that standard.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,541.40, down 38.67 points or 0.51 percent, with 342 of 497 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 51,983.98, up 213.67 points or 0.41 percent, with 17 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 27,989.82, down 395.03 points or 1.39 percent, with 52 of 100 members higher.
- Microsoft was the single biggest drag on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, subtracting 11.42 points and 94.28 points respectively.
- Sherwin-Williams was the Dow's biggest gainer, adding 118.04 points on a 5.97 percent rise.
- Amazon was the S&P 500's and Nasdaq 100's biggest positive contributor, adding 5.13 points and 48.88 points respectively.
- Consumer Discretionary was the day's strongest sector, up 2.39 percent, led by Amazon.
- Energy was the day's weakest sector, down 3.93 percent, led lower by Exxon Mobil.
- The S&P 500's move ranks at the 21st percentile and the Nasdaq 100's at the 14th percentile of the past year's daily moves, while the Dow's ranks at the 68th percentile.
From Babylon Burns
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