Today At A Glance:

Stocks slipped again as investors stayed cautious on rich tech valuations and pared back hopes for near-term Fed cuts. A post-earnings drop in Home Depot weighed on the Dow, while traders braced for Nvidia’s report that could reset sentiment across the AI trade. Crypto-linked names slumped after Bitcoin briefly fell below $90,000, adding to the risk-off tone. Market breadth remained weak and the VIX pushed to a one-month high as indexes notched a fourth straight decline. Yields were little changed to slightly lower into the close, with attention turning to Wednesday’s Fed minutes and economic releases later in the week.

Today’s Index Performance:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average — Opened at 46,382.92 and closed at 46,251.60, for a −0.73% day.
• S&P 500 — Opened at 6,636.43 and closed at 6,645.88, for a −0.40% day.
• Nasdaq Composite — Opened at 22,565.91 and closed at 22,514.65, for a −0.85% day.

Gainers Of Note:

• Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) – Medical devices; rose after topping Q2 estimates and nudging guidance higher on strength in cardiovascular and diabetes products.
• Merck (NYSE: MRK) – Pharmaceuticals; outperformed with defensives leading as investors rotated toward quality/health care amid valuation worries.
• Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX)– Streaming/media; advanced on a generally defensive tilt within mega-cap media and continued interest in platform engagement.

Losers Of Note:

• Home Depot (NYSE: HD) – Home improvement retail; fell after cutting its full-year profit outlook and citing softer big-ticket demand.
• Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) – E-commerce & cloud; slipped as the company priced a $15B multi-tranche bond sale, adding to tech-sector leverage jitters.
• Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN)– Crypto exchange; declined alongside Bitcoin’s break below $90K, which pressured crypto-exposed equities.

Active Traders Of Note:

• Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) – AI chips; heavy turnover ahead of earnings, with options implying a potential record market-cap swing.
• AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) – Semis/AI; brisk activity as the AI complex stayed under pressure into Nvidia’s print.
• Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) – PCs/servers; remained actively traded after recent downgrades and choppy data-center sentiment.

Looking Forward:

The near-term path for risk likely hinges on Nvidia’s results and guidance; a strong print could stabilize AI leaders, while a miss risks deepening the rotation into defensives. Retail earnings (Walmart, Target) will add texture to the consumer outlook and margin pressures. With volatility elevated and breadth thin, investors may favor quality balance sheets and cash-flow visibility into tomorrow’s session.

THIS NEWSLETTER IS PARTNERED WITH ROBINHOOD.COM AND IS FINANCIALLY SPONSORED BY THAT SERVICE.

TO BEGIN YOUR INVESTMENT JOURNEY TODAY, USE THIS LINK TO SET UP YOUR ACCOUNT.