S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq 100 hit record closes

Utilities led the sector gains, Amazon outperformed among the Magnificent Seven, and small caps ended the day lower.

U.S. equities closed mostly higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq 100 all reaching record finishes. The Dow advanced as well, while the small-cap Russell 2000 declined.

Beneath the surface, however, there were notable divergences. Utilities posted the strongest sector performance by a wide margin, while networking and data-center infrastructure stocks dominated the list of top gainers. At the same time, a number of semiconductor shares fell sharply. Buyers were active, but they were clearly picking their spots.

The session opened with lower Treasury yields and softer crude oil prices, which created a more favorable environment for equities. Those moves came early in the day, and by the close, buying had extended well beyond the largest technology names.

U.S. stock closing levels

• Dow Industrial Average: 51,526.14, up 253.03 points (+0.49%)

• S&P 500: 7,818.92, up 44.96 points (+0.58%)

• Nasdaq Composite: 27,599.79, up 122.48 points (+0.45%)

• Russell 2000: 2,830.30, down 16.84 points (-0.59%)

• Nasdaq 100: 31,224.47, up 148.03 points (+0.48%)

The S&P 500 posted the largest percentage gain among the major indices. The Russell 2000's drop stood out as the lone decline, underscoring that record highs in the larger benchmarks do not mean every segment of the market is advancing.

Utilities lead; healthcare is the only declining sector

Ten of the 11 S&P sectors ended higher:

• Utilities: +3.01%

• Consumer discretionary: +1.39%

• Real estate: +1.13%

• Communication services: +0.96%

• Industrials: +0.90%

• Materials: +0.65%

• Financials: +0.55%

• Energy: +0.44%

• Consumer staples: +0.18%

• Information technology: +0.16%

• Healthcare: -0.16%

Utilities' surge stood out against the S&P 500's 0.58% rise. Meanwhile, the slight gain in information technology masked some substantial moves in both directions.

That distinction is important. The Nasdaq closed at a record, but this was not a session where buying any tech stock guaranteed it would track the index higher.

Amazon leads the Magnificent Seven

Six of the seven stocks finished in positive territory, with Amazon as the clear leader:

• Amazon: $256.29, +1.95%

• Microsoft: $529.30, +0.78%

• Tesla: $380.68, +0.51%

• Alphabet: $347.68, +0.35%

• Apple: $333.63, +0.22%

• Nvidia: $239.24, +0.14%

• Meta: $738.88, -0.41%

Nvidia joined the advance but its daily gain was small. Still, it was the only Mag 7 name to close at a record level, with several others well off their all-time highs. Amazon did most of the heavy lifting within the group, while Meta was the sole decliner.

Networking and data-center names dominate the winners

Some of the biggest gains came from companies tied to networking, connectivity and computing infrastructure:

• Ciena: +13.85%

• Astera Labs: +7.58%

• Nebius Group: +7.40%

• Corning: +6.02%

• Marvell: +5.81%

• CoreWeave: +4.95%

• Cisco: +4.54%

• Arista Networks: +4.09%

Outside that group, Lennar gained 3.99%, GE Vernova rose 3.96%, and On Holding advanced 3.95%.

Ciena's nearly 14% jump was especially striking given that the broader indices rose less than 1%.

Chip stocks and biotechnology feature among the losers

Tech gains were far from widespread:

• Western Digital: -6.93%

• SK hynix ADR: -6.39%

• KLA: -4.54%

• Lam Research: -3.44%

• Intel: -3.18%

Other notable declines included:

• Moderna: -7.75%

• BAE Systems ADR: -3.99%

• ARK Genomic Revolution ETF: -8.84%

• SPDR S&P Biotech ETF: -3.39%

The takeaway from these moves is clear: a bullish index does not eliminate the need to evaluate individual stocks on their own merits.

What should traders take from the record closes?

A record close is a positive signal. Buyers pushed the indices higher and managed to hold onto those gains into the close.

The key question now is follow-through. Can buyers build on those records, and will more stocks participate? Breadth is not particularly strong.

For the S&P 500, the prior record closing level of 7,798.98 serves as a nearby reference for the next session. Tuesday's close finished above that mark. Holding above it would bolster the bulls' case; slipping back below would raise doubts about whether the latest push is losing steam. It is a closing benchmark, not a guarantee of support.

For newer traders, Tuesday offered a useful lesson: use the broader market to gauge the overall backdrop, then rely on the individual stock's technical levels to set bias, risk and targets. Ciena surged while Western Digital fell sharply, even as the Nasdaq reached a record close. The index provides context. The stock still has to make its own bullish argument.

Related analysis

• Although the broader indices are looking to close at record levels, the Magnificent 7 (sans Nvidia) lag behind

• The Nasdaq composite index is trading at a new record high. How do you measure the next technical targets?