Tech Weakness Drags Nasdaq to Lowest in A Year, While Dow Holds Uptrend

Quick overview

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed lower for the month, with technology stocks leading the pullback, while the Dow managed to preserve its broader uptrend.

Monthly Performance Overview

Only the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended the month in negative territory. The S&P 500 declined 0.87%, reversing part of January’s 1.37% gain. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.38%, marking its worst monthly performance since March 2025. Technology and semiconductor weakness weighed heavily on broader sentiment, particularly as investors reassessed valuations following strong year-to-date gains earlier in the cycle.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average showed relative resilience. Although the Dow fell 1% on the day, it still managed to post a modest 0.17% weekly gain, keeping its intermediate uptrend intact despite briefly dipping below its 50-day simple moving average.

Weekly Tone: Momentum Slows

The week was defined by fading upside momentum, selective profit-taking, and cautious positioning ahead of key macroeconomic catalysts.

Rather than broad-based liquidation, selling pressure appeared concentrated in previously crowded trades, particularly within growth and AI-linked names. Market breadth remained mixed, suggesting consolidation rather than panic.

Notable Laggards This Week

Semiconductor stocks – pressured by valuation concerns and post-earnings “sell-the-news” reactions. Select megacap technology names – continued weakness as investors locked in gains. Cyclical industrials – weighed down by renewed growth uncertainty. High-beta momentum stocks – underperformed as volatility ticked higher

📉 Market Wrap – Indices Close Lower

🔹 For the Trading Day

Dow Jones Industrial Average: -1.05%

• Broad-based weakness across industrials and financials
• Defensive sectors offered limited support

S&P 500 Index: -0.43%

• Losses concentrated in select megacap and cyclical names
• Breadth slightly negative but not disorderly

Nasdaq Composite: -0.92%

• Tech underperformed amid renewed pressure in semiconductors and AI-linked stocks
• Growth names saw profit-taking after recent volatility

➡️ The tone was risk-off, with sellers maintaining control into the close and little late-session recovery.

📊 Weekly Performance Snapshot

Dow Jones Industrial Average: -1.31%

• Biggest weekly decline among the three major indices
• Reflects pressure in traditional cyclical sectors

S&P 500 Index: -0.44%

• Relatively resilient despite mid-week swings
• Defensive rotation helped cushion downside

Nasdaq Composite: -0.95%

• Continued sensitivity to AI capex concerns and rate expectations
• Momentum stocks lagged

Market Takeaway

Investors are trimming exposure to crowded AI and growth trades. Sustainability of AI-related capital expenditure remains a central debate. Index-level declines were moderate, signaling consolidation rather than structural breakdown. Focus now shifts to upcoming macro data releases and central bank commentary for the next directional catalyst.

Consumer & Retail Weakness

• Whirlpool: -19.00% — largest decline; cyclical consumer demand concerns and rate sensitivity weighing on appliances.

• Macy’s Inc: -11.78% — continued pressure on discretionary retail spending outlook.

• Dollar Tree: -5.98% — defensive retail also seeing margin and consumer-trend worries.

• Best Buy: -3.92% — electronics demand uncertainty persists.

• Nike: -4.91% — growth expectations moderating.

High-Beta Growth & Tech Selling

• First Solar: -18.51% — clean energy names hit hard amid rate/yield volatility.

• Zoom Video: -18.11% — growth multiple compression continues.

• NVIDIA: -6.65% — profit-taking despite strong AI narrative.

• Synopsys: -5.90%

• Broadcom: -3.92%

• Micron: -3.69%

➡️ Semis and AI leaders saw rotation and valuation pressure, not outright fundamental deterioration.

Financials Under Pressure

• American Express: -10.80%

• PNC Financial: -9.00%

• Wells Fargo: -8.21%

• Bank of America: -6.13%

• Morgan Stanley: -5.09%

• Citigroup: -5.02%

• Goldman Sachs: -6.72%

➡️ Lower yields and macro uncertainty weighed broadly on banks and credit-sensitive names.

Travel & Cyclicals Rolling Over

• United Airlines Holdings: -5.95%

• Southwest Airlines: -5.45%

• Delta Air Lines: -5.37%

• American Airlines: -3.83%

➡️ Cyclical reopening trades softened as growth expectations cooled.

Industrials / Defense

• Raytheon: -17.17% — notable individual weakness within defense.

For the trading month, the biggest losers (selected highlights)

Crypto & Crypto-Linked Assets Hit Hard

• BTCUSD: -26.48%

• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC): -26.39%

• Bitcoin Futures: -26.05%

• Robinhood Markets: -26.64%

• Strategy (MicroStrategy): -18.27%

➡️ A broad risk unwind in crypto spilled into crypto-levered equities and trading platforms as momentum reversed sharply.

High-Growth Tech & AI Names Repriced Lower

• Snowflake: -22.09%

• Zoom Video: -23.16%

• CrowdStrike: -20.72%

• Palo Alto Networks: -18.95%

• Synopsys: -19.04%

• AMD: -20.80%

• Microsoft: -18.46%

• IBM: -18.42%

• Intuit: -24.07%

➡️ Investors rotated out of long-duration growth and AI leaders, reflecting valuation compression rather than a single catalyst.

Speculative / High-Beta Growth Under Pressure

• SoFi Technologies: -27.80%

• Trump Media & Technology Group: -21.31%

➡️ Higher-beta retail favorites were among the hardest hit as risk appetite faded.

☀️ Cyclicals & Industrials Weakening

• First Solar: -20.97%

• Raytheon: -36.14% (largest decline of the group)

➡️ Cyclical and policy-sensitive sectors saw aggressive repositioning.

🏥 Defensive Growth Also Pulled Lower

• Boston Scientific: -18.06%

➡️ Even higher-quality defensive growth names were not immune, signaling broad market de-risking.

Biggest winners this month (selected highlights)

🔌 AI Infrastructure & Connectivity Leaders

• Corning: +44.24% — strongest performer; beneficiary of data-center and fiber demand tied to AI buildout.

• Ciena Corp: +35.51% — networking infrastructure strength as bandwidth demand accelerates.

• Dell Technologies: +26.11%

• Arm Holdings: +15.91%

• Taiwan Semiconductor: +9.46%

➡️ Capital spending tied to AI infrastructure and hardware buildout remained a dominant market theme.

Industrials, Transport & Cyclical Rebound

• FedEx: +23.01%

• Caterpillar: +15.50%

• Southwest Airlines: +20.53%

• Marriott International: +9.48%

➡️ Investors rotated toward real-economy cyclicals, signaling confidence in economic resilience.

Energy Strength

• Occidental Petroleum: +18.45%

• Baker Hughes: +15.22%

• Exxon Mobil: +9.91%

• Chevron: +9.90%

➡️ Rising commodity expectations and steady cash-flow stories supported energy stocks.

Healthcare & Defensive Growth

• Moderna: +18.26%

• Merck & Co: +15.77%

• Biogen: +9.70%

• Stryker: +8.32%

➡️ Healthcare attracted flows as investors balanced growth exposure with defensive positioning.

Consumer & Media Winners

• Tapestry: +23.38%

• Target: +11.80%

• Walmart: +9.73%

• Netflix: +13.71%

• Live Nation Entertainment: +9.86%

• Paramount Skydance: +19.14%

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Skerdian Meta

Lead Analyst

Skerdian Meta Lead Analyst. Skerdian is a professional Forex trader and a market analyst. He has been actively engaged in market analysis for the past 11 years. Before becoming our head analyst, Skerdian served as a trader and market analyst in Saxo Bank's local branch, Aksioner. Skerdian specialized in experimenting with developing models and hands-on trading. Skerdian has a masters degree in finance and investment.

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