S&P 500 Drops 43 Points at Midday While the Dow Holds Steady
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on August 18, 2026.
- S&P 500-0.56%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average-0.09%
- Nasdaq Composite—
The Dow is essentially unchanged while the S&P 500 gives up 43 points, so the selling is concentrated in the index's biggest growth names. That gap is the thing to keep an eye on this afternoon.
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The S&P 500 was sitting at 7,702 at midday, down about 0.6% from its previous close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was barely in the red, off less than 0.1% at the same moment. When the S&P 500 drops noticeably while the Dow barely moves, the selling tends to be concentrated in the large-cap growth and technology names that carry heavy weight in the S&P but less so in the price-weighted Dow.
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That divergence is worth tracking through the afternoon. A wider gap between the two indexes signals investors pulling back from the market's biggest growth positions. A narrower one signals the selling is fading.
The trajectory heading into the final hours of trading will indicate whether sellers are in control or afternoon buyers are willing to step in at current levels.