U.S. equity indices ended Monday's session in negative territory as losses concentrated in Utilities, Technology and Industrials pushed overall market readings lower. At the New York Stock Exchange close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.11%, the S&P 500 retreated 0.06% and the NASDAQ Composite gave up 0.32%.
Leading and lagging components
On the Dow, Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was the day's strongest performer, rising 4.48% - an 8.35-point gain to finish at 194.91. Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) added 2.46%, closing at 197.48 after a 4.74-point increase, while Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) climbed 1.82% to end at 130.92, up 2.34 points.
Among the biggest decliners on the blue-chip index, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) fell 2.85%, a loss of 6.38 points to close at 217.58. Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) dropped 2.26% to 375.62, down 8.69 points, and Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:SHW) gave up 1.90%, closing at 362.71 after a 7.02-point decline.
S&P 500 movers
On the S&P 500, energy and selected technology names delivered the strongest gains. APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) rose 9.01% to 41.02, Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) was up 7.42% to settle at 320.32, and Akamai Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:AKAM) gained 6.39% to close at 117.60.
The weakest S&P components included Verisk Analytics Inc (NASDAQ:VRSK), which declined 5.55% to 181.18, Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) which lost 4.78% to settle at 157.76, and Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV) which dropped 4.59% to 44.89.
Notable activity on the NASDAQ
The NASDAQ session featured extreme moves in several small-cap and micro-cap issues. Next Technology Holding Inc (NASDAQ:NXTT) recorded a dramatic increase of 10,816.67% to close at 6.55. Antelope Enterprise Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:AEHL) rose 1,778.29% to 5.71, and Socket Mobile Inc (NASDAQ:SCKT) surged 451.24% to finish at 2.13.
Conversely, significant declines included Sionna Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SION), down 91.18% to 4.50, Tenax Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:TENX), down 89.81% to 1.37, and Airsculpt Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:AIRS), which fell 45.11% to 2.75.
Market breadth and extremes
On the NYSE, decliners outnumbered advancers by 1,584 to 1,124, with 100 issues unchanged. On the Nasdaq, 2,006 stocks fell while 1,413 advanced and 189 finished unchanged.
Several stocks hit new extreme levels in the session. Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) rose to an all-time high, climbing 7.42% or 22.12 points to 320.32. On the downside, Sionna Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SION) fell to an all-time low, down 91.18% or 46.54 points to 4.50, and Tenax Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:TENX) fell to an all-time low, down 89.81% or 12.07 points to 1.37. Socket Mobile Inc (NASDAQ:SCKT) reached a three-year high, rising 451.24% or 1.74 points to 2.13.
Volatility, commodities and currencies
The CBOE Volatility Index, a gauge of implied S&P 500 options volatility, was higher by 3.76%, rising to 15.46.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for December delivery increased 1.16% or 51.22 to $4,450.92 a troy ounce. Crude oil for September delivery rose 5.27% or 4.12 to $82.30 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract advanced 5.13% or 4.29 to trade at $87.84 a barrel.
In foreign exchange, the EUR/USD pair was essentially unchanged, moving 0.14% to 1.15, while USD/JPY rose 0.97% to 159.33. The US Dollar Index Futures climbed 0.28% to 99.70.
This session's trading reflected divergent performance across sectors: energy-related names and select software and tech-services firms outperformed, while technology hardware and industrial-related stocks underperformed. Overall market breadth showed more decliners than advancers on both major exchanges.