Stocks in the United States ended the session lower on Wednesday as declines in Industrials, Utilities and Technology pressured the broader market. At the New York Stock Exchange close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.02%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.21% and the NASDAQ Composite retreated 0.66%.
Notable movers among blue chips
Within the Dow, several names bucked the broader trend. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) led gains among the index components, rising 5.07% to close at 43.13. Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) added 4.25% to finish at 163.32, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) gained 3.05% to end the day at 384.38.
At the other end of the Dow, Industrials weakness was highlighted by Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which fell 6.86% to 991.80. Retail and healthcare heavyweights also lagged: Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) declined 3.88% to 108.86, and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) slipped 2.44% to 125.37.
S&P 500 movers
On the S&P 500, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) posted one of the largest gains, climbing 8.81% to 612.92. General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS) rose 8.53% to settle at 37.77, and Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:PLTR) added 7.77% to close at 125.73.
Counterbalancing those advances were steep declines among some components: Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was down 13.62% to 220.63, KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) fell 11.77% to 266.19, and Teradyne Inc (NASDAQ:TER) dropped 11.64% to 427.54 at the close.
Extremes on the Nasdaq
The Nasdaq Composite included dramatic percentage moves in several smaller listings. Linkhome Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LHAI) surged 315.15% to 2.74, Token Cat Ltd DRC (NASDAQ:TC) rose 157.84% to 4.77 and Sadot Group Inc (NASDAQ:SDOT) gained 105.19% to close at 72.00.
On the downside among smaller caps, INLIF Ltd (NASDAQ:INLF) fell 42.96% to 0.03, LQR House Inc (NASDAQ:YHC) dropped 33.54% to 0.05 and Julong Holding Ltd (NASDAQ:JLHL) was down 31.63% to 11.09 at the close. LQR House Inc recorded an all-time low, falling to 0.05 on the session.
Market breadth and volatility
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE, where 1,519 stocks rose and 1,232 fell, with 79 unchanged. On the Nasdaq, 2,021 issues advanced while 1,405 declined and 163 were unchanged. The CBOE Volatility Index rose 0.73% to 16.57.
Commodities and currencies
Commodities were mixed. Gold Futures for August delivery rose 0.27% or 10.75 to $4,049.25 a troy ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery fell 2.04% or 1.42 to $68.08 per barrel, and the September Brent contract declined 2.43% or 1.77 to trade at $71.18 per barrel.
In currencies, EUR/USD was reported unchanged at 0.39% to 1.14, while USD/JPY rose 0.06% to 162.61. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.24% at 101.19.
Takeaway
Wednesday’s session closed with broad market softness driven by losses in key sectors, offset by notable individual winners across large-cap and small-cap listings. Volatility ticked up modestly and energy prices fell, while gold in August delivery posted a small gain. Overall market internals showed a mixed picture across the major exchanges.