The S&P 500 closed at 7,568.92, up 27.52 points, a gain of 0.36 percent. Breadth did not match the headline number: only 179 of the index's 488 members finished higher, which means a majority of stocks fell on a day the index rose.
The gain came from a narrow group of large names. Nvidia contributed 13.60 points on a 2.29 percent move, Microsoft added 12.45 points on a 2.74 percent move, Amazon added 6.04, Broadcom added 5.68 and Meta Platforms added 3.83. On the other side, Apple subtracted 11.86 points, the largest single drag in the index, with Tesla, Walmart, Johnson & Johnson and Merck also lower. The index's concentration reading of 117 percent shows that the biggest gainers contributed more points than the index's entire net move, offset by declines spread across the rest of the roster.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 51,787.00, down 196.98 points, a decline of 0.38 percent. Only 9 of its 30 members rose, a narrower advance than either the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq 100 managed.
Sherwin-Williams was the heaviest drag, subtracting 68.35 points on a 3.26 percent decline, followed by Home Depot at -44.52 points and Apple at -38.16 points. Microsoft worked the other direction, adding 82.44 points on its 2.74 percent gain, with Caterpillar adding 61.34 and Amazon adding 30.07. The overlap with the S&P 500 story is partial: Microsoft and Amazon lifted both indices, and Apple dragged on both, but Sherwin-Williams and Home Depot pulled a lever specific to the Dow that neither the S&P 500 nor the Nasdaq 100 carries in its top movers.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 28,180.26, up 190.44 points, a gain of 0.68 percent, the biggest percentage move among the three indices today. Breadth ran closer to even than in the S&P 500, with 51 of 95 members higher.
Nvidia led with 57.40 points, Microsoft added 52.99, Space Exploration Technologies added 34.51, Amazon added 28.15 and Broadcom added 24.31. Apple was by far the largest drag at -48.20 points, a far bigger point hit here than in the S&P 500 given Apple's larger weight in this index. Walmart, Tesla, Shopify and Palantir rounded out the detractors; Shopify's 8.74 percent decline was the sharpest percentage move of any name in either top-five or bottom-five list today, even though its point contribution was modest.
The sectors
Seven of eleven sectors fell today even as the major indices finished mixed to higher. Technology led with a gain of 1.31 percent, followed by Communication Services at 1.19 percent and Industrials at 0.96 percent. Real Estate was essentially flat at 0.05 percent. On the downside, Consumer Staples fell 2.06 percent and Materials fell 2.05 percent, with Energy, Consumer Discretionary, Financials and Utilities also lower.
Technology's strength ran through Nvidia, the sector's top driver, up 2.29 percent on the day.
Consumer Staples was the weakest sector, down 2.06 percent, with Walmart as the top driver of the decline at -2.22 percent.
Set against the past year of sessions, today's S&P 500 move sits at the 65th percentile, a middling day by the index's own recent history. The Dow's move ranks lower, at the 27th percentile, while the Nasdaq 100's move sits at the 70th percentile. None of the three qualifies as a large move by that measure.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,568.92, up 27.52 points, a gain of 0.36 percent, with 179 of 488 members higher.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 51,787.00, down 196.98 points, a decline of 0.38 percent, with only 9 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 28,180.26, up 190.44 points, a gain of 0.68 percent, with 51 of 95 members higher.
- Nvidia was the single largest positive contributor to the S&P 500, adding 13.60 points on a 2.29 percent gain.
- Apple was the single largest drag on the S&P 500, subtracting 11.86 points on a 1.90 percent decline.
- Technology was the strongest sector of the day, up 1.31 percent, led by Nvidia.
- Consumer Staples was the weakest sector of the day, down 2.06 percent, led lower by Walmart's 2.22 percent decline.
- The S&P 500's move ranks at the 65th percentile of its past year of sessions, a middling day for the index.
From Babylon Burns
WMTMT is brought to you by the founders of Babylon Burns. If you want to stay ahead of the markets, read their recent piece on Shorting Nvidia: Live with Sam Kovacs #3: I SHORTED NVDA.
Want our free weekly recap of what moved the market, straight to your inbox? Subscribe to the WMTMT Substack.