US Markets
Dow outperforms as semis and other megacap tech slip
A rotation into defensives and cyclicals lifts the Dow while chip weakness weighs on the Nasdaq.
The Dow Jones closes up 1.0% at 52,747.3, the S&P 500 adds 0.2% to 7,428.8, and the Nasdaq Composite slips 0.2% to 24,876.9. The Russell 2000 edges up 0.2% to 2,953.8, so breadth is better than the Nasdaq headline suggests, but not strong enough to pull every major index higher.
Sector action tells the story. Health leads with a 2.4% gain, followed by Staples up 2.0%, Materials up 1.9%, Comm Svcs up 1.9%, Financials up 1.3%, and Discretionary up 1.5%. Tech drops 1.8%, Energy falls 1.4%, and Utilities and Industrials also finish lower. That mix fits a market moving out of the biggest growth names and into everything else.
The options market leans a touch defensive, with the SPY put-call ratio at 1.19 and QQQ at 1.05. At the same time, the VIX finishes at 18.21, down 2.5%, while the VIX 9-day rises 2.4% to 17.25. That gap says traders are still watching for near-term swings even as the broader volatility gauge eases.
Intraday, the S&P 500 spends most of the session in a narrow band after an early dip, then pushes higher late. The index closes above its 200-day moving average, while its RSI14 sits at 44.9, a sign the market is not stretched even after the day’s rebound.