The S&P 500 closed at 7,688.62, up 119.7 points, a gain of 1.58 percent. Breadth was solidly positive, with 364 of the index's 490 members higher on the day, but the move itself was narrow: the top five names accounted for 71 percent of the index's net point gain.
Apple added 32.9 points on a 5.31 percent gain, Microsoft added 32.66 points on a 6.68 percent gain, and Amazon contributed 19.12 points on a 6.12 percent gain. Alphabet's two share classes together added 12.42 points. On the other side, Nvidia subtracted 22.1 points on a 3.17 percent decline, Micron subtracted 9.8 points on a 7 percent drop, and Exxon Mobil cost the index 4.64 points.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 53,356.00, up 1,569.28 points, a gain of 3.03 percent, a far larger move than the S&P's in percentage terms. This was a broad advance: 27 of the Dow's 30 members rose, and the top five contributors made up only 34 percent of the point gain, in contrast with the S&P's concentrated lift.
Microsoft led with 206.9 points on its 6.68 percent gain, Goldman Sachs added 191.09 points on a 3.59 percent rise, Sherwin-Williams contributed 134.5 points on a 6.64 percent gain, and Home Depot added 129.63 points on a 6.54 percent move. Apple added another 104.67 points here. The only real drags were Caterpillar, which cost the average 195.13 points on a 5.26 percent decline, Chevron, down 49.21 points on a 3.68 percent drop, and Nvidia, which subtracted 38.99 points.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 28,437.17, up 256.91 points, a gain of 0.91 percent, well behind both the S&P and the Dow. Breadth was mixed, with 65 of 98 members higher, and the index's concentration ran extremely high at 97 percent of the point move coming from its top names.
Microsoft and Apple again did the heavy lifting, adding 94.32 and 93.77 points respectively, with Amazon contributing 60.52 points. Alphabet's two classes together added 80.42 points here. But the same semiconductor names that were minor drags on the S&P carried far more weight in this index: Nvidia subtracted 57.68 points on its 3.17 percent decline, Micron cost 24.71 points on its 7 percent drop, Tesla subtracted 19.2 points, and Broadcom and ASML combined for another 19.43 points of drag. That chip-heavy weighting is the clearest divergence from the S&P and Dow story today.
The sectors
Eight of eleven sectors finished higher, with Consumer Discretionary, Communication Services, Financials, Consumer Staples, Real Estate, Health Care, and Materials all posting gains above 2 percent. Technology was essentially flat at -0.01 percent, and Industrials and Energy were the only sectors to post meaningful declines.
Consumer Discretionary was the day's strongest sector, up 4.24 percent, adding 4.98 points. Amazon was the top driver, contributing 1.62 points on its 6.12 percent gain.
Energy was the weakest sector by a wide margin, down 4.71 percent and subtracting 3.14 points. Exxon Mobil led the decline, costing the sector 0.72 points on a 4.5 percent drop.
Against the past year of sessions, today's moves rank in the 97th percentile for the S&P 500 and the 99th percentile for the Dow, both qualifying as large by any recent standard. The Nasdaq 100's move sits at the 78th percentile, a sizable day but not an outsized one relative to its own history.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,688.62, up 119.7 points, a gain of 1.58 percent, with 364 of 490 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 53,356.00, up 1,569.28 points, a gain of 3.03 percent, with 27 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 28,437.17, up 256.91 points, a gain of 0.91 percent, with 65 of 98 members higher.
- Microsoft was the single biggest driver across all three indices, adding 206.9 points to the Dow, 94.32 points to the Nasdaq 100, and 32.66 points to the S&P 500.
- Caterpillar was the Dow's biggest drag, costing the average 195.13 points on a 5.26 percent decline.
- Nvidia was the biggest drag on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, subtracting 22.1 and 57.68 points respectively.
- Consumer Discretionary was the day's strongest sector, up 4.24 percent, led by Amazon.
- Energy was the day's weakest sector, down 4.71 percent, led down by Exxon Mobil.
- The S&P 500's move ranks in the 97th percentile and the Dow's in the 99th percentile of the past year, both large moves; the Nasdaq 100's 78th percentile move was not.
From Babylon Burns
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