Stock market today: Dow closes at record highs as Big Tech losses drag down S&P 500 and Nasdaq

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to an all-time high even as major technology companies weighed on the broader market, leading to a mixed finish for U.S. stock indices on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent on Monday, remaining 0.9 percent below its record high reached in July. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.9 percent, dragged down by several technology companies that tend to influence the market due to their high values. Nvidia lost 2.2 percent, Microsoft 0.8 percent, Amazon 0.9 percent, Meta Platforms slipped 1.3 percent and Tesla lost 3.2 percent.

The Dow rose 0.2 percent to 41,240 points, surpassing its previous high in mid-July. The average is less influenced by the big technology companies; only Apple and Microsoft are among the most valuable “Magnificent Seven” stocks in the index. That helped limit the impact of the big technology companies, which slipped.

The price of US crude oil rose 3.5% after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah heavy fire on Sunday, raising potential supply concerns.

Bond yields remained relatively stable, with the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rising to 3.82 percent from 3.80 percent late Friday.

The stock market is coming off a two-week winning streak that helped keep the S&P 500 and Dow Jones within reach of new highs. Monday's mixed close came at the start of a week marked by another round of corporate earnings and the latest government inflation numbers.

Monday began with a surprisingly strong report showing that orders for durable goods from U.S. factories, including cars, rose 9.9% in July. There's an update on consumer confidence on Tuesday, and on Thursday the U.S. will release a revised estimate of second-quarter economic growth.

Semiconductor manufacturer Nvidia is presenting its latest financial results on Wednesday. It benefited greatly from the Wall Street mania surrounding artificial intelligenceand became one of the the largest companieswith a total value of over $3 trillion. The stock has risen by more than 155% over the year.

Shares of other chip manufacturers also fell. Broadcom lost 4.1%, Advanced Micro Devices 3.2% and Lam Research slipped 3.4%.

Overall, the S&P 500 fell 17.77 points to 5,616.84. The Dow rose 65.44 points to 41,240.52 and the Nasdaq lost 152.03 points to close at 17,725.76.

Other companies reporting quarterly results this week include Kohl's, Chewy, Salesforce and Dollar General.

The most important report for investors this week comes on Friday, when the government releases its latest inflation data, the Personal Consumption and Expenditure (PCE) report for July, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signaled clearly on Friday that the central bank plans to cut its benchmark interest rate, which is currently at a 20-year high. The Fed raised rates to bring inflation back to its 2% target, but the final push to achieve the goal has not come.

Inflation is steadily declining, and economists surveyed by FactSet expect the latest PCE data to show inflation at 2.6%. In mid-2022, the PCE was at 7.1%.

The Fed is trying to contain inflation by slowing economic growth, but not so much that it causes a recession. The dynamics of its concerns have shifted.

“Recent comments from discussions with Fed officials indicate that they are more concerned about the risk of an economic slowdown,” said Nathan Thooft, chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management.

Traders are forecasting a rate cut at the Fed's September meeting, expecting the central bank to cut its benchmark interest rate by at least one percentage point by the end of the year, according to data from CME Group.