Small caps jump 1.65% while Big Tech sits it out
The Russell 2000 led a broad rally and about 72% of stocks closed green, but the Nasdaq-100 slipped as five of the Magnificent 7 fell. Earnings did the heavy lifting: Equifax and Hasbro soared, GM sank, and Netflix stumbled after the bell.
The day in 60 seconds
- 1
The rally went wide, not tall. The Russell 2000 gained 1.65% and the Dow ETF 1.13%, while the S&P 500 rose just 0.28% and the Nasdaq-100 dipped 0.13%. Across the market, 3,233 stocks rose and 1,223 fell.
- 2
Earnings picked the winners. Equifax (+11.2%) and Hasbro (+11.2%) jumped on strong quarters. GM fell 6.9% even with a $20B buyback, as its guidance and rising costs worried investors.
- 3
Fear cooled, but tech traders hedged. The VIX (Wall Street's "fear gauge") fell 6.1% to 17.31. Still, money spent on QQQ puts ($395M) far outran QQQ calls ($221M).
- 4
The night shift is busy. Netflix issued a weak fourth-quarter forecast after the bell. SpaceX, Intuitive Surgical, Capital One and United Airlines also report tonight.
The Magnificent 7 % change todayOpen heatmap →
METAFifth straight losing day as investors brace for Q3 results tomorrow after the close and worry about AI spending.
GOOGL
AAPL
MSFT
NVDA
AMZN
TSLAThe only standout gainer, rising into its own earnings report tomorrow after the close.
LIVE ON OPTIONSGEEK Meta fell 1.6% into tomorrow's earningsOpen META → How the market felt
Volatility fell and nearly three in four stocks rose, which is a confident tape. The one cautious note: big tech traders paid up for downside protection in QQQ ahead of a heavy earnings week.
LIVE ON OPTIONSGEEK $179B traded in dark pools, split almost evenly between buyers and sellersOpen dark pool → Where the money went avg 1-day moveOpen sector heatmap →
LIVE ON OPTIONSGEEK S&P 500 sectors today: 404 stocks up, 99 downOpen heatmap → Options flow: what the big money didOpen flow →
Trades of $1M or more added up to $8.28B in premium across 1,441 prints (data through 3:58 PM ET): $5.03B in calls and $3.25B in puts. Don't read that as bullish. Most of the call money sat in a few giant S&P 500 index (SPX) packages: deep in-the-money Dec-2031 7000 and 8000 strike calls paired with same-size puts in the same millisecond, including a single $494M call print. Those are institutional financing trades, not bets on direction, so we set them aside.
Below are the trades that carry real signal. Premium is the net cost of the whole package.
| Ticker | Trade | Premium | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
 INTC | Pre-arranged cross: 23,500 June-2028 80/135 call spreads at $16.95, tied to a stock trade. Stock at $92.70; earnings Oct 29. | $39.8M | UNUSUAL |
 TSM | Cross: rolled 5,000 Nov-2026 $450 calls out to June 2027 for $35.10 net, a bit above the midpoint. Stock at $420.46. Likely bullish. | $17.6M | UNUSUAL |
 CRWV | Cross: bought 10,000 Sep-2027 $80 calls, sold Jan-2028 $150 calls, $8.10 net at mid. New $80 position (volume 10,042 vs open interest 556). Stock at $62.79. | $8.1M | UNUSUAL |
 MU | Bought 1,182 Nov-27 $900 puts at the ask ($47.40) in one burst at 11:00 AM. Stock at $917.51. | $5.6M | BEARISH |
| MU | Bought 858 Oct-23 $870/$880 call spreads for $7.80, above mid. Pays up to $10 if Micron holds above $880 by Friday. Stock at $909.97. | $669K | BULLISH |
 AMD | Put roll: sold 1,500 June-2028 $350 puts, bought Dec-2028 $330 puts for $1.15 net. Extends long-dated protection. Stock at $540.24. | $173K | HEDGE |
| GOOGL | Late-day (3:47 PM) 2,833-lot three-leg: bought Feb-2027 $350 calls, sold Feb $380 and Nov $350 calls, $0.36 net, above mid. Stock at $339.10; earnings Oct 28. | $102K | UNUSUAL |
LIVE ON OPTIONSGEEK The options tape after the closeOpen flow → Biggest movers $10B+ companies
Losers
SENo company headline in our feed−9.23%
TSEMNo company headline in our feed−7.16%
DVANo company headline in our feed−7.15%
GMGuidance and rising costs outweighed a Q3 beat and $20B buyback−6.93%
MLINo company headline in our feed−6.28%
GPCQ3 profit missed on auto-parts margin squeeze; outlook trimmed−5.17%Gainers
EFXQ3 beat; trimmed revenue view only slightly despite weak mortgages+11.23%
HASBig Q3 beat; Magic: The Gathering sales topped $600M+11.18%
RVMDHeadline: first patients dosed in Phase 3 lung-cancer trial+7.94%
GWRENo company headline in our feed+7.10%
TRUNo company headline in our feed+6.97%
MRNABuying ahead of melanoma vaccine data+6.94%Earnings todayOpen earnings →
| Ticker | When | EPS est. | Result | Stock today | Expected move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EFX | Before open | $2.19 | Beat, per headlines (actual not yet in our feed) | +11.23% | ±9.9% |
| HAS | Before open | $1.86 | Beat; raised full-year outlook, per headlines | +11.18% | ±7.9% |
| GM | Before open | $3.55 | Beat, per headlines; $20B buyback | −6.93% | ±4.9% |
| GPC | Before open | $2.09 | Missed, per headlines; outlook trimmed | −5.17% | ±6.9% |
 RTX | Before open | $1.78 | Raised full-year sales outlook, per headlines | ≈+0.5% (est.) | ±4.3% |
 NFLX | After close | $0.82 | Weak Q4 forecast, per Reuters. Early after-hours trades near $66 (thin) | — | ±8.2% |
 SPCX | After close | $0.11 | Not out yet at 4 PM | — | ±9.6% |
 ISRG | After close | $2.61 | Not out yet at 4 PM | — | ±6.3% |
 COF | After close | $5.45 | Not out yet at 4 PM | — | ±4.0% |
 UAL | After close | $2.60 | Not out yet at 4 PM | — | ±4.9% |
What else you should know
Housing cracked. September housing starts came in at 1.221M versus 1.30M expected, and pending home sales fell 7.3% versus a 0.5% drop forecast.
Bonds caught a bid. The 20+ year Treasury fund TLT rose 0.83%, which usually means long-term yields slipped.
Gold and oil eased, bitcoin rose. GLD fell 0.47% and USO 0.27%, while the bitcoin fund IBIT gained 0.95%.
Chip names were mixed. Electronic technology barely moved (+0.15% on average) (145 up, 134 down) even as TSM rose 1.25%.