The S&P 500 closed the week at 7,718.60, up 6.84 points, or 0.09%, from August 28 to September 4. The headline number undersells how lopsided the week actually was. Only 212 of the index's 503 members finished higher, and the equal-weighted version of the index fell 0.71%. A small handful of stocks did the heavy lifting while the median name lost ground.
Nvidia was the whole story on the upside, adding 34.87 points on a 5.89% weekly gain. Meta Platforms contributed 9.58 points on a 6.7% move, and Micron added 9.33 points as it climbed 8.98%. Sandisk was the week's biggest percentage mover among the top contributors, up 17.17% for 3.54 points, and Intel added 3.15 points on a 7.07% gain. On the other side, Microsoft subtracted 11.36 points on a 2.69% decline, Amazon gave back 9.19 points on a 2.97% drop, and Broadcom, Alphabet's Class A shares and Alphabet's Class C shares combined to take out another 15.34 points between them.
The Dow
The Dow told a different story than the S&P this week, closing at 53,414.00, down 145.99 points, or 0.27%. Only 14 of its 30 members advanced, and the equal-weighted move was worse still at negative 0.36%. Where the S&P found enough chip and mega-cap strength to turn positive, the Dow's mix of megacaps did not include enough winners to offset its losers.
Microsoft was again the largest single drag, taking 82.2 points off the average on its 2.69% decline. Sherwin-Williams subtracted 66.21 points on a 3.23% drop, McDonald's took out 55.33 points falling 3.51%, and Home Depot cost the index 54.86 points on a 2.8% decline. Alphabet added another 48.32 points of drag. On the positive side, Caterpillar led with 80.36 points on a 1.69% gain, Nvidia added 76.14 points, Johnson & Johnson contributed 42.53 points, Chevron added 39.76 points, and Amgen chipped in 28.59 points.
The Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 closed the week at 29,544.15, up 110.72 points, or 0.38%. Breadth was thin here too, with only 42 of 102 members higher, and the equal-weighted index fell 0.84%, the widest gap between cap-weighted and equal-weighted performance among the three benchmarks this week.
Nvidia's contribution was outsized here, adding 122.45 points on its 5.89% gain. Meta added 49.24 points, Micron added 47.93 points, Space Exploration Technologies contributed 38.73 points on a 4.56% gain, and Sandisk added 22.38 points. The drag side of the Nasdaq 100 was dominated by the same names weighing on the S&P and the Dow: Alphabet's two share classes together took out 173.71 points, Microsoft subtracted 81.55 points, Amazon subtracted 71.39 points, and Broadcom took out 23.15 points.
The sectors
Across the eleven sectors, the week split cleanly between energy-and-tech strength and a broader retreat elsewhere. Six of eleven sectors finished lower, with Consumer Discretionary, Materials and Real Estate among the weakest, while Energy and Technology led on the upside.
Energy was the week's strongest sector, up 2.22%, adding 1.39 points to its own gauge. Chevron was the top driver, contributing 0.31 points on a 3.31% gain.
Consumer Discretionary was the weakest sector, down 1.97%, shedding 2.31 points. Amazon was the top drag, subtracting 0.96 points on a 2.97% decline, consistent with its weight on the drag side of both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 this week.
The payload does not include a percentile ranking for this week's index moves against the past year, so no comparison to prior sessions is offered here. What the numbers do show plainly is a week where a small group of chip and platform names carried the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 to modest gains while the median stock in every major index lost ground, and where the Dow, lacking the same chip weighting, simply fell.
The numbers
- The S&P 500 closed the week at 7,718.60, up 6.84 points, or 0.09%, from August 28 to September 4.
- Only 212 of the S&P 500's 503 members rose for the week, while the index's equal-weighted version fell 0.71%.
- Nvidia was the S&P 500's largest contributor, adding 34.87 points on a 5.89% weekly gain.
- Microsoft was the S&P 500's biggest drag, subtracting 11.36 points on a 2.69% decline.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 53,414.00, down 145.99 points, or 0.27%, with only 14 of its 30 members higher.
- The Nasdaq 100 closed at 29,544.15, up 110.72 points, or 0.38%, even as its equal-weighted version fell 0.84%.
- Energy was the week's strongest sector, up 2.22%, led by Chevron's 3.31% gain.
- Consumer Discretionary was the week's weakest sector, down 1.97%, weighed down by Amazon's 2.97% decline.
- The payload does not include a percentile ranking for this week's moves against the past year.
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