Monday's session opened the week on a sour note, with all four major indices closing in the red and the tech-heavy Nasdaq bearing the brunt of the selling pressure. The S&P 500 settled at 7,616.41, off 0.45%, while the Nasdaq dropped 0.80% to close at 25,743.23 — underperforming its large-cap peers as growth and semiconductor names faced headwinds.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average held up comparatively better, slipping just 0.25% to 52,118.57, while the small-cap Russell 2000 declined 0.34% to 2,867.58, suggesting the risk-off tone was broad but not catastrophic. Gold continued to shine as a haven asset, with the precious metal holding firm at $4,289.81, reflecting persistent investor caution about the macro backdrop.
Nvidia was the session's most prominent casualty, shedding 3.36% to $210.96 in heavy volume, dragging the semiconductor complex lower with it. The stock has faced mounting pressure from regulatory headwinds and questions about the durability of AI infrastructure spending cycles. In contrast, Alphabet stood out as a rare bright spot, gaining 3.22% to $349.39 and offering some reassurance that mega-cap tech is not monolithic in its direction.
The divergence between GOOGL and NVDA underscores a rotation narrative that has been quietly building — investors appear willing to reward ad-tech and search AI monetization while trimming exposure to hardware-dependent AI plays that carry greater regulatory and demand risk.