The S&P 500 closed at 7,561.67, down 30.73 points, a loss of 0.4 percent. Breadth was positive even as the index fell: 311 of the index's 484 members finished higher, the kind of split that shows a small group of large losers outweighing a broad but quiet advance. The day's concentration ratio of 92 percent means the top handful of point movers accounted for nearly the entire net change.
Those movers were almost all chips. Advanced Micro Devices subtracted 9.96 points on an 8.75 percent decline, Broadcom cost 9.42 points on a 4.76 percent drop, and Nvidia gave back 8.96 points despite a smaller 2.01 percent slide. Cisco and Micron extended the damage further down the list. On the other side, Meta Platforms added 4.21 points after a 2.9 percent gain, with Apple, Eli Lilly, Visa and JPMorgan Chase also contributing small gains that kept the index's decline from running wider.
The Dow
The Dow closed at 52,348.00, up 50.91 points, a gain of 0.1 percent, diverging from the red session in the broader market. Visa led with 32.39 points on a 1.3 percent gain, Chevron added 21.04 points on a 1.64 percent rise, and JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and American Express also finished higher.
The drags came from the same names weighing on the other two indexes. Cisco knocked 37.86 points off the average on a 6.24 percent decline, Caterpillar fell 0.84 percent for a 30.19-point hit, and Nvidia's 2.01 percent slide cost 19.85 points. Alphabet and 3M rounded out the laggards. Breadth split close to even at 19 of 30 members higher, but concentration ran at 144 percent, meaning gainers and losers nearly offset each other and the Dow's small headline gain masked a session that moved considerably beneath the surface.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 27,943.74, down 345.45 points, a loss of 1.22 percent, the sharpest move of the day's three indexes. Breadth was narrow, with only 42 of 96 members higher. The same three chip names weighed far more heavily here given their index weight: Advanced Micro Devices cost 71.66 points, Broadcom 70.62 points, and Nvidia 68.64 points. Alphabet's two share classes together subtracted another 60.39 points.
Meta Platforms again provided the largest offset, adding 39.41 points, with Apple, Walmart, Microsoft and Costco also positive on the day. The index's concentration of 61 percent shows the move was spread across more names than the Dow's session but still driven by a small cluster at the top.
The sectors
Sector performance split cleanly between defensives and technology. Consumer Staples, Communication Services and Energy led the gainers, while Technology sat alone at the bottom. Financials, Health Care and Utilities also finished higher, while Materials, Consumer Discretionary and Industrials posted small losses.
Consumer Staples was the day's strongest sector, up 1.39 percent for 1.27 points, with Walmart the top contributor at 0.17 points on a 1.51 percent gain.
Technology was the weakest sector, down 2.04 percent for 3.54 points, with Advanced Micro Devices the largest single drag at 0.88 points on its 8.75 percent decline.
Against the past year, today's S&P 500 move sits at the 26th percentile, the Dow's at the 52nd percentile, and the Nasdaq 100's at the 15th percentile, placing all three sessions on the quieter end of the recent range.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed at 7,561.67, down 30.73 points, or 0.4 percent, with 311 of 484 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 52,348.00, up 50.91 points, or 0.1 percent, with 19 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 27,943.74, down 345.45 points, or 1.22 percent, with 42 of 96 members higher.
- Advanced Micro Devices was the single biggest drag across the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq 100, falling 8.75 percent and costing the Nasdaq 100 71.66 points.
- Meta Platforms was the largest positive contributor in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, adding 39.41 points to the Nasdaq 100 on a 2.9 percent gain.
- Visa led the Dow with 32.39 points of contribution on a 1.3 percent gain.
- Consumer Staples was the day's strongest sector, up 1.39 percent, led by Walmart.
- Technology was the day's weakest sector, down 2.04 percent, led lower by Advanced Micro Devices.
- The S&P 500's move ranked at the 26th percentile and the Nasdaq 100's at the 15th percentile of moves over the past year.
From Babylon Burns
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