12:44 PM EDT, 08/20/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell in midday trading on Wednesday as the so-called Magnificent-7 lagged, reflecting the narrow market leadership.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1% to 21,097.8, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% to 6,381.1, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.1% to 44,886.6. Classic growth sectors such as technology, consumer discretionary, and communication services led the decliners intraday. Energy, a value play, was the top gainer after midday.

Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VUG), an exchange-traded fund investing in growth companies, declined 1.1%. In contrast, the Schwab US Large-Cap Value ETF ( SCHV ) , the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD), and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) were all little changed.

Index heavyweights with large sway over mainstream gauges, Amazon ( AMZN ) , Nvidia ( NVDA ) , Apple ( AAPL ) , and Microsoft ( MSFT ) , accounted for four out of the top five laggards on the Dow.

In earnings news, Target ( TGT ) remains challenged amid the promotion of its chief operating officer to the role of chief executive, a research note from Truist Securities said. "While 2Q sales were a touch better than initially expected and earnings came in-line with the bar that was reset last qtr, it is hard to envision a turnaround for the co any time soon."

Shares of Target ( TGT ) slumped 7.7% intraday, the steepest decline on the S&P 500.

Another bulge-bracket retailer, Lowe (LOW), reported higher fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings and net sales, and increased its full-year sales outlook.

Most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield down 1.7 basis points to 4.29% and the two-year rate slid 3.6 basis points to 3.72%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 1.5% to $63.30 a barrel.