S&P 500 Closes Up 2% as Nasdaq Surges Nearly 3% and Laps the Dow
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on August 4, 2026.
- S&P 500+2.01%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average+1.84%
- Nasdaq Composite+2.94%
Tech did the heavy lifting: the Nasdaq's 2.94% close was the widest gap over the Dow in this rally, and anyone underweight big tech just watched the index leave them behind.
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The S&P 500 added 152 points to close at 7,752.91, a gain of just over 2% from its previous close of 7,600.49. The rally was broad enough to lift all three major indexes, but it was far from evenly distributed — the Nasdaq Composite finished up nearly 2.94%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged at 1.84%, the widest spread between the two in this rally.
That gap tells an important story about where the day's returns were concentrated. Technology stocks carried the bulk of the load, which is why the Nasdaq so clearly outpaced the more industrials-heavy Dow. For investors who have trimmed or underweighted big tech in recent months, the session was a reminder of the cost: the index simply moved faster and further than the rest of the market.
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The S&P 500 itself climbed steadily through the session, crossing the 2% threshold near the final stretch of trading before dipping very slightly into the close. Whether today's tech-led momentum continues or fades will be the key question heading into the next session.