The S&P 500 closed the week at 7,757.64, up 267.92 points, or 3.58%, from July 31 to August 7. The gain came with breadth to match: 353 of the index's 503 members finished higher. Concentration ran at 44%, and the equal-weight version of the index rose 2.52% versus the cap-weighted index's 3.58%, so the week's mode is best described as mixed: the average stock participated, but the largest names did more of the work.
NVIDIA led all contributors, adding 64.63 points on an 11.56% gain. Microsoft added 31.17 points (up 7.59%), Broadcom 21.44 points (up 9.88%), Palantir 12.34 points on a 39.78% surge, and Meta Platforms 9.08 points (up 6.36%). On the other side, Western Digital was the heaviest drag at -4.71 points despite a much larger -20.29% decline in the stock itself, a reminder that its index weight is small. Chevron subtracted 2.28 points (-5.22%), Alphabet's C shares 1.62 points (-0.89%), AppLovin 1.54 points (-12.4%), and Datadog 1.33 points (-12.7%).
The Dow
The Dow closed at 54,037.00, up 1,551.97 points, or 2.96%, for the week. Breadth was wide, with 23 of 30 members higher, and concentration sat lower than the S&P at 35%. The equal-weight move of 2.9% landed almost on top of the cap-weighted 2.96%, making this the most broadly distributed of the three indexes.
Microsoft was again the top contributor, adding 209.63 points on its 7.59% gain. Sherwin-Williams added 171.53 points (up 8.47%), Caterpillar 163.24 points (up 3.37%), Amgen 153.26 points (up 6.69%), and Home Depot 140.33 points (up 7.11%). None of these except Microsoft appear among the S&P's top five, which is the clearest divergence between the two indexes this week: the Dow's gain leaned on industrials and homebuilding-adjacent names that carry little weight in the broader market. Chevron was the largest drag at -61.04 points (-5.22%), followed by UnitedHealth at -43.74 points (-1.78%), Visa at -22.11 points (-1.02%), Alphabet's A shares at -10.88 points (-0.51%), and Merck at -9.69 points (-1.25%).
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,722.30, up 1,448.11 points, or 5.12%, the largest percentage move of the three indexes this week. Breadth was 76 of 102 members higher, concentration ran at 50%, and the equal-weight gain of 4.58% trailed the cap-weighted move only modestly, so the advance was broad even with heavy weight at the top.
NVIDIA contributed 304.3 points here on the same 11.56% gain, and Space Exploration Technologies added 268.67 points on a 22.83% jump, a name that shows up only in this index's top five and not in the S&P's or Dow's. Microsoft added 152.07 points, Broadcom 133.51 points, and Palantir 90.08 points on its 39.78% gain. On the downside, Western Digital subtracted 19.35 points (-20.29%), AppLovin 10.48 points (-12.4%), Datadog 6.96 points (-12.7%), Alphabet's C shares 6.95 points (-0.89%), and Honeywell Aerospace 6.53 points (-18.49%), a decliner that appears in the Nasdaq 100's bottom five but not in either the S&P's or the Dow's.
The sectors
Across the eleven sectors, the split was directional and clean: eight sectors rose, three fell, and the gap between the best and worst was wide.
Technology was the week's strongest sector, up 7.19%, or 12.61 points, with NVIDIA the top driver at 2.82 points on its 11.56% gain.
Energy was the week's weakest, down 3.48%, or 2.07 points, with Chevron the top driver of the decline at -0.49 points on its -5.22% move, the same stock that showed up as a drag in both the S&P and the Dow.
Percentile context for this week's move was not provided in the underlying data, so no comparison against the past year's range can be made here.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed the week at 7,757.64, up 267.92 points, or 3.58%, with 353 of 503 members higher.
- The Dow closed at 54,037.00, up 1,551.97 points, or 2.96%, with 23 of 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,722.30, up 1,448.11 points, or 5.12%, with 76 of 102 members higher.
- NVIDIA was the week's biggest single driver in both the S&P 500 (+64.63 points) and the Nasdaq 100 (+304.3 points).
- Western Digital was the week's most consistent drag, subtracting from both the S&P 500 (-4.71 points) and the Nasdaq 100 (-19.35 points) on a -20.29% decline.
- Technology was the strongest sector, up 7.19%, led by NVIDIA's 2.82-point contribution.
- Energy was the weakest sector, down 3.48%, led lower by Chevron's -0.49-point contribution.
- Concentration in the S&P 500 stood at 44% this week, versus 35% in the Dow and 50% in the Nasdaq 100.
From Babylon Burns
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