Wall Street closed out September on a sour note Monday, with all four major indices finishing in the red as end-of-quarter repositioning and lingering macro concerns weighed on sentiment. The S&P 500 fell 0.74% to close at 7,663.76, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.67% to settle at 51,078.17. The tech-heavy Nasdaq bore the brunt of the selling, dropping 1.07% to 26,736.04, as several large-cap technology names came under meaningful pressure.
The Russell 2000 was not spared, declining 0.69% to 2,789, suggesting the risk-off tone was broad-based rather than concentrated in any single sector. With quarter-end rebalancing in full swing, institutional flows appeared to favor trimming equity exposure, particularly in names that had run hard through September.
Gold remained a standout safe-haven destination, with the precious metal holding firm at $4,126.78 — a level that underscores persistent demand for non-correlated assets as equities wobble. The divergence between gold's resilience and equity softness paints a picture of a market navigating genuine uncertainty heading into Q4.
Nvidia's 1.68% gain to $228.86 was a rare bright spot, offering some encouragement that AI-driven demand narratives remain intact even on difficult tape days. Meta's 4.79% tumble to $715.62 was the session's starkest story, dragging the communication services sector and reminding investors that even the largest platforms carry headline risk.