Small Caps Charge, Tech Pauses: Utilities and Energy Find Shelter as Geopolitics and Bond Flows Reprice Risk

The S&P finished modestly higher while Nasdaq eased and small caps led gains as investors rotated into utilities, energy and select industrials. Geopolitical noise near the Strait of Hormuz and falling yields helped fuel a sector reshuffle that left earnings-sensitive tech mixed and defensive names catching a bid.