The S&P 500 closed at 7,520.93, down 29.01 points, a loss of 0.38 percent. Breadth was positive even as the index fell: 244 of the index's 491 members finished higher. That split, a lower index with more advancers than decliners, is the story of the day. A handful of large technology names did the damage while the rest of the market held closer to flat.
Nvidia alone subtracted 22.07 points from the index on a 5.47 percent decline, the single largest move of the session in either direction. Microsoft took off another 8.05 points, falling 2.2 percent. On the other side, Amazon added 3.36 points on a 1.48 percent gain, with Eli Lilly, Berkshire Hathaway, AMD, and UnitedHealth also finishing in the green and contributing small offsetting gains.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 52,232.00, down 157.75 points, a decline of 0.3 percent. Breadth here was weaker than in the S&P, with only 12 of the 30 members higher. Caterpillar led the drag, down 2.39 percent for a loss of 85.05 points, followed closely by Microsoft's 71.44-point hit and Nvidia's 58.13-point subtraction. This is where the Dow's story departs from the S&P's: Caterpillar, an industrial with no S&P-500 equivalent weight, was the single biggest point-loser of the day, something the broader index barely registered.
UnitedHealth provided the largest offset, adding 44.58 points on a 1.89 percent gain, with Travelers contributing another 33.17 points. Goldman Sachs and Amazon rounded out the positive side. The net effect was a narrower, more lopsided decline than the S&P's, with concentration in the Dow's attribution running higher than in the broader index.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 27,740.79, down 166.83 points, a loss of 0.6 percent, the steepest percentage decline of the three indexes today. Breadth was thin, with only 34 of 99 members higher. Nvidia's drop did the most damage here by far, subtracting 107.64 points on its 5.47 percent slide, more than four times the impact of any other single name. Microsoft's 40.79-point loss and Apple's 14.48-point loss added to the pressure, with Alphabet's two share classes together subtracting another 10.45 points.
Amazon was the clearest offset, adding 19.47 points, with Space Exploration Technologies, AMD, Tesla, and Texas Instruments also finishing higher. Where the S&P and Dow stories involve industrials or insurers pulling in the opposite direction, the Nasdaq 100's countercurrent came entirely from inside the same mega-cap cohort that was otherwise driving the index down.
The sectors
Eleven sectors split roughly down the middle today, with four in the green and seven in the red, though every move was small. Financials gained 0.5 percent to lead, Energy added 0.46 percent, and Technology fell 1.14 percent to trail the field by a wide margin relative to its peers.
Financials' gain was broad rather than driven by one name; Berkshire Hathaway was the top contributor but added only 0.11 points to the sector's move. The gain tracked the same strength in UnitedHealth, Travelers, and Goldman Sachs that showed up in the Dow's positive contributors.
Technology's decline was concentrated almost entirely in one name. Nvidia contributed negative 1.13 points to the sector's move of negative 1.95 points, meaning a single stock accounted for more than half the sector's loss. Microsoft's decline added to the pressure, consistent with its drag on all three indexes above.
Measured against the past year, today's moves were unremarkable. The S&P's decline sits at the 26th percentile, the Dow's at the 31st, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 27th, meaning each index has moved by more than today's amount roughly seven out of every ten trading days over the past year. None of the three qualifies as a large move by that standard.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,520.93, down 29.01 points or 0.38 percent, with 244 of 491 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 52,232.00, down 157.75 points or 0.3 percent, with only 12 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 27,740.79, down 166.83 points or 0.6 percent, with 34 of 99 members higher.
- Nvidia was the day's biggest single drag, subtracting 22.07 points from the S&P 500, 58.13 points from the Dow, and 107.64 points from the Nasdaq 100 on a 5.47 percent decline.
- UnitedHealth was the Dow's top contributor, adding 44.58 points on a 1.89 percent gain.
- Amazon added 3.36 points to the S&P 500 and 19.47 points to the Nasdaq 100 on a 1.48 percent gain.
- Financials was the day's strongest sector, up 0.5 percent, while Technology was the weakest, down 1.14 percent.
- The S&P 500's move ranks in the 26th percentile of the past year, the Dow's in the 31st, and the Nasdaq 100's in the 27th.
From Babylon Burns
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