Stocks Close Mixed as DJIA and S&P 500 Hit Intraday Records Amid Broad Market Weakness

The stock market ended Friday’s session with a mixed performance, as the DJIA (+0.1%) and S&P 500 (-0.3%) each touched fresh intraday records before fading from their highs. The Nasdaq Composite (-0.4%) spent much of the day under pressure, weighed down by weakness in technology shares.

FT

At its best point of the day, the DJIA reached an all-time high of 45,203.52, though the modest gain wasn’t enough to secure a record close. The S&P 500 briefly hit a new peak at 6,481.34 during early trading, but slipped back into the red as tech losses mounted.

The Dow’s resilience was largely driven by a standout rally in UnitedHealth (UNH 304.16, +32.67, +12.03%), which surged after news that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B 477.20, -1.86, -0.4%) purchased over 5 million shares of the insurer last quarter—an investment worth roughly $1.6 billion. The move fueled a strong advance in the health care sector (+1.7%), making it the day’s top performer and leader for the week with a 4.6% gain.

Communication services (+0.8%) also outperformed thanks to leadership from Alphabet (GOOG 204.91, +1.09, +0.53%) and Meta Platforms (META 785.23, +3.10, +0.40%). Real estate (+0.7%) and consumer staples (+0.1%) were the only other sectors to finish higher, while materials ended flat.

Technology (-0.8%) was the biggest drag, hurt by disappointing guidance from Applied Materials (AMAT 161.76, -26.48, -14.07%) despite better-than-expected earnings. Chipmaker weakness, including a dip in NVIDIA (NVDA 180.44, -1.58, -0.87%), drove the PHLX Semiconductor Index down 2.2%. The selling pressure in large-cap tech weighed on the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (-0.4%), with small and mid-cap benchmarks—the Russell 2000 (-0.6%) and S&P MidCap 400 (-0.6%)—also posting similar declines.

Market breadth leaned negative, with decliners outnumbering advancers by nearly 3-to-2 on both the NYSE and Nasdaq, and six of eleven S&P 500 sectors closing in the red.

Lingering inflation concerns modestly trimmed expectations for a September rate cut. The CME FedWatch Tool now shows an 84.9% probability of a 25 basis-point cut, down from 92.1% a day earlier, also lowering the odds for further cuts later this year.

Economic data offered mixed signals. The July Import Price Index rose 0.4%, clouding the inflation outlook and raising questions about whether tariff-related price pressures will accelerate or if this was a temporary uptick.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee (FOMC voter) added to the day’s cautious tone, noting in a CNBC interview that inflation readings have been uneven and warning against overreacting to one month’s data, stressing the need to identify which price increases truly matter for policy.

The FTInvest 11 portfolio remained under pressure today, slipping right out of the gate and spending much of the session in negative territory. In the afternoon, the index made a bid to recover and return to the flatline, but the rebound attempt fell short. Even so, it managed to hold the 840 level, closing at 840.18 for a daily decline of 0.5%.

Despite back-to-back losses over the past two sessions, the index still posted a strong weekly gain of 2.37%, far outpacing the S&P 500’s more modest 0.94% rise over the same period. This resilience underscores the portfolio’s relative strength even amid short-term weakness.