Software Sell-Off Drags the Nasdaq as Small Caps Climb: Oct 29, 2026

Thursday was a split market. Big tech-heavy indexes fell as a couple of software names crashed, but smaller companies had a good day. Here is the rundown.

The big picture

• S&P 500: 7,720.39, down 23.59 (-0.30%)

• Nasdaq Composite: 26,184.72, down 365.13 (-1.38%)

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 52,342.56, down 132.54 (-0.25%)

• Nasdaq-100: 29,402.51, down 410.65 (-1.38%)

• Russell 2000: 2,859.22, up 28.71 (+1.01%)

ETFs told the same story: SPY 769.36 (-0.38%), QQQ 715.34 (-1.42%), DIA 522.73 (-0.37%) and IWM 284.01 (+0.97%).

The VIX rose 1.71% to 17.20, a small uptick in expected volatility.

Oil, gold, Bitcoin and bonds

• WTI crude oil (front-month futures): $102.00, down 0.78 (-0.76%). Single source (Yahoo Finance).

• Gold (front-month futures): $4,031.40, down 20.20 (-0.50%). Single source (Yahoo Finance).

• Bitcoin: $77,938.86, down 4.05%, using Coinbase data via FRED. Yahoo Finance shows $77,775.11 (-4.30%) because it uses a different exchange and cutoff time. Either way, Bitcoin fell about 4%.

• 10-year Treasury yield: 4.99%, down about 6 basis points from 5.05%. Single source (Yahoo ^TNX, 4.989) until FRED posts Oct 29.

Biggest S&P 500 gainers

Gen Digital (GEN): +15.81% to $28.20. Revenue rose 12% to $1.369 billion, non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.74, and Gen raised its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance. (SEC filing)

Carvana (CVNA): +15.68% to $68.31. "In the quarter, we sold 217,000 units - our first quarter over 200,000." Carvana expects full-year adjusted EBITDA "in the higher end of our previously communicated range of $2.7 to $3.0 billion." (SEC filing)

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH): +13.45% to $18.22. Q3 revenue was $2.9 billion and adjusted EPS was $1.12, above guidance. It raised 2026 guidance to adjusted EBITDA of about $2.55 billion and adjusted EPS of about $1.70. (SEC filing)

Biggest S&P 500 losers

ServiceNow (NOW): -26.95% to $109.67. Reuters reported that "a third-quarter profit miss overshadowed a raise to its full-year subscription revenue and cash flow margin outlook." The release guides Q4 cRPO growth to 18.5%. cRPO (current remaining performance obligations) measures contracted revenue still to come. (SEC filing, Reuters via StreetInsider, CNBC)

Fortinet (FTNT): -20.09% to $139.10. Revenue rose 20% to $2.08 billion, but Reuters said the company "reported slower product revenue growth in the third quarter and lowered its service revenue forecast for the year." BofA also downgraded the stock to neutral. (SEC filing)

Marvell Technology (MRVL): -13.24% to $218.34. There was no company filing. After the Oct 28 close, Bloomberg reported that Marvell was in advanced talks to buy Lumentum, likely in an all-stock deal, which raised dilution concerns. (The Motley Fool, MarketWatch via Morningstar)

Quick explainer: in an all-stock deal, the buyer pays with new shares. More shares means each existing share owns a smaller slice of the company. That is dilution.

Big-company earnings

EPS actual and consensus come from the Nasdaq.com earnings calendar (consensus by Zacks). Revenue and guidance come from each company's own release.

• Amazon (AMZN): miss. EPS $1.89 vs. $2.01; stock -4.25%. Net sales rose 12% to $201.9 billion, and AWS sales rose 39% to $46.0 billion. Q4 net sales are expected between $240.0 billion and $247.0 billion. (SEC)

• Eli Lilly (LLY): beat. EPS $7.48 vs. $5.38; stock +6.63%. Revenue rose 39% to $24.4 billion. Full-year EPS guidance is now "$35.00 to $36.00." (SEC)

• Mastercard (MA): beat. EPS $5.31 vs. $5.14; stock +4.16%. Net revenue was $9.8 billion, up 14%. (SEC)

• Intel (INTC): beat. EPS $0.41 per Nasdaq.com vs. $0.28; stock -3.62%. Revenue was $16.5 billion, up 21%. Intel's release shows GAAP EPS of $0.60 and non-GAAP EPS of $0.52, which doesn't match Nasdaq.com's $0.41. Q4 guidance: revenue of $15.0 to $16.0 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $0.25. (SEC)

• Merck (MRK): beat. EPS $2.49 vs. $2.12; stock +3.83%. Sales were $18.1 billion, up 5%. (SEC)

• Caterpillar (CAT): beat. EPS $7.20 vs. $7.12; stock -9.25%. Sales and revenues rose 17% to $20.7 billion. (SEC)

• Shell (SHEL): beat. EPS $3.86 per ADS vs. $3.54; stock +2.36%. Adjusted EPS was $1.93 per share (one ADS equals 2 shares). Shell also declared a $5 billion buyback. (SEC)

• Linde (LIN): beat. EPS $4.59 vs. $4.52; stock -0.99%. Sales were $9.4 billion, up 9%. (SEC)

What my team is watching

Small caps rising while the Nasdaq fell 1.38% is a reminder that "the market" is not one thing. Different parts can move in opposite directions on the same day.

Educational only, not investment advice. Do your own research.

Get the daily recap free. Join the free Unbroke newsletter.