S&P 500 Closes Lower as Dow Leads the Selling on August 31
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on August 31, 2026.
- S&P 500-0.26%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average-0.59%
- Nasdaq Composite-0.29%
The Dow gave up 316 points, more than double the S&P 500's percentage loss, concentrating the selling in old-economy names. Blue chip holders felt this close the hardest.
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The broad market ended August's final session in the red, with the S&P 500 settling at 7,691.74, and the modest percentage decline masked a rougher day for investors holding traditional blue-chip names.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average bore the brunt of the pressure, falling 0.6% against the S&P 500's 0.3% decline. That divergence signals selling concentrated in older, more industrial corners of the market.
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The Nasdaq Composite also finished lower, slipping roughly 0.3%, which puts all three major indexes on the same side of the ledger for the session. The Nasdaq tracking closely with the S&P 500 while the Dow falls harder points to sector rotation.
The index has been working through a choppy stretch after trading near 7,799 earlier in the period. Investors heading into September will want to watch whether the S&P 500 holds current levels or whether the Dow's sharper slide leads wider weakness.