Energy and communication services led, but declines in technology and consumer discretionary stocks outweighed gains elsewhere. Salesforce, a Dow component, rose after a rare double upgrade.
Nine of the S&P 500's 11 sectors rose on Monday. The index itself did not.
The S&P 500 was down about 0.1% at 7,802.57 at about 2:15 p.m. Eastern, roughly 0.5% below its intraday record of 7,844.52, set Oct. 6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 0.35% to 51,834.50. The Nasdaq Composite fell about 0.4% and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies lost about 0.3%. The Cboe Volatility Index was near 15.
The sector count
By midday nine sectors were in positive territory, led by gains of about 1.4% in both energy and communication services and about 1% in consumer staples. Technology slipped about 1% and consumer discretionary about 0.5%.
That was enough. Technology is the largest sector in the S&P 500 by market value, so a 1% decline there can outweigh smaller gains spread across most of the market. Memory and optical-hardware stocks led the decline, with Lumentum down about 11% and Micron down about 3.5%.
Communication services
Meta Platforms rose about 4%, one reason the S&P 500 stayed near its record. The move began at the opening bell and was already in place before Meta's afternoon launch of new AI models.
Salesforce
Salesforce rose about 1.2% to $231.91 after trading more than 4% higher before the open. At about 3:20 p.m., it accounted for about 20 points of the Dow's roughly 168-point gain. Microsoft, Visa, Apple and American Express each contributed more.
Bank of America analyst Tal Liani raised his rating to buy from underperform, skipping neutral, and lifted his price target to $285 from $160. Mr. Liani said conversations with technology chiefs suggest that large enterprises, more than smaller businesses, are unlikely to replace platforms that house their business logic, data, workflows and compliance frameworks. "If anything, AI should deepen dependence on these platforms," he wrote.
Investors worried that AI tools would erode demand for business software had pushed Salesforce down about 14% in 2026. The new target is about 23% above Monday's price.
The upgrade did not lift software broadly. Workday and Intuit each rose more than 3% early, but a broad software ETF was down about 1.3% by early afternoon.
Market implications
One reading is that the session showed healthy rotation. Gains spread across energy, staples and communication services, and only two sectors fell, which suggests that buyers are widening their focus beyond the largest technology names.
A second reading is that the index remains dependent on a narrow group. When technology weakens, broad participation elsewhere is not enough to lift the S&P 500, and Monday's flat trading near a record came with the Nasdaq and small caps lower.
What to watch
Earnings from the largest banks begin Tuesday, and ASML and Taiwan Semiconductor report Wednesday and Thursday. Whether technology regains leadership after those reports, or energy and financials keep outperforming, will show which reading holds.