Session brief · Wednesday, March 4, 2026 close
Stocks rose. 3,294 rose, 1,648 fell — but consumer staples lagged.
9 of 11 sectors finished higher. Consumer Discretionary led at +1.44%; Consumer Staples lagged at -0.73%.
The biggest liquid gainer was Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW), up 45.7% in materials.
Among benchmarks, QQQ (Nasdaq-100) did best at +1.52% and DIA (Dow 30) did worst at +0.46%.
Market breadth
5,085 common stocks · previous-session close▲ 3,294 advancing (64.8%)143 unchanged▼ 1,648 declining (32.4%)
Sectors, cap-weighted
| Sector | Change | Rising | Falling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Discretionary | +1.44% | 320 | 226 |
| Technology | +1.08% | 420 | 190 |
| Financials | +1.04% | 533 | 189 |
| Communication Services | +0.96% | 99 | 28 |
| Industrials | +0.95% | 254 | 154 |
| Healthcare | +0.87% | 605 | 231 |
| Utilities | +0.26% | 87 | 29 |
| Real Estate | +0.15% | 147 | 78 |
| Materials | +0.11% | 143 | 95 |
| Energy | −0.60% | 65 | 58 |
| Consumer Staples | −0.73% | 49 | 65 |
Top gainers
Top losers
Most active
Common stocks · $2+ · 500K+ shares · $100M+ market cap · previous-session close. Changes compare the Mar 4, 2026 close with Mar 3, 2026; stocks with unexplained price jumps are excluded.