Key Highlights

● The equal-weight S&P 500 fell far less than the headline index on October 30.

● The standard index is weighted by market value.

● Losses were concentrated in megacaps and chips.

● Intel fell to $65.76 and the semiconductor index to 10,688.80.

The S&P 500 fell 140.32 points to 7,580.07 on Friday, October 30, 2026, its worst day since June. But a different measure of the same 500 companies told a calmer story. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, known by its ticker RSP, also fell, but far less steeply than the headline index, according to market data.

The difference comes down to construction. The standard S&P 500 weights companies by market value, so giants like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) carry outsized influence. The equal-weight version gives every member the same slice, so a mid-sized Utility counts as much as a trillion-dollar tech company. When the two diverge this sharply, it signals that a handful of heavyweights are doing most of the damage.

Where the damage landed

Friday's losses were concentrated in megacaps and chips. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) plunged to $65.76 after warning of cash burn this year and issuing a weak fourth-quarter outlook, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index sank to 10,688.80. Nvidia fell to $204.64, losing about $185 billion in Market Value according to market data, while Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), Micron (NASDAQ:MU) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) all dropped. Technology was the worst-performing sector by a wide margin.

The big internet platforms added pressure. Amazon slid after its results showed trailing 12-month free Cash Flow of negative $42.4 billion, and Alphabet extended Thursday's record selloff. Meta (NASDAQ:META), Microsoft and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) also finished lower, while Apple held up best among the Magnificent Seven. Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) and Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) slid with the rest of the AI-infrastructure trade, and Dell (NYSE:DELL) and HP fell on Intel's warning about a prolonged PC slump.

The rest of the market held up

Away from the giants, the picture was more mixed. Six of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by energy, consumer staples, utilities and health care. About 240 S&P 500 members were trading higher at midday, according to market data. Health care hit a record high, according to market data, with Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) the index's top gainer, while Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) briefly touched record highs on record refining results and oil above $100.

Smaller companies also held up better over the week. The Russell 2000 fell 47.37 points on Friday to 2,811.84 but gained 35.95 points for the week, while the S&P 500 lost 43.61 points over the same span.

"The market is much more broad than people generally want to give it Credit for," an Investment strategist said. A senior market strategist said that "investors are becoming more discerning following earnings."

What to watch

Whether the gap between the two indexes persists may depend on the next round of big-tech news. Apple, the last Magnificent Seven member still to report this season, releases results on Monday, November 2. The midterm elections follow on Tuesday, November 3, with investors watching state and local races for data-center implications, and the October jobs report arrives on Friday, November 6.

The Fed backdrop matters for both versions of the index. Traders see a December rate hike as the likely outcome, though Treasury yields slipped on Friday even as stocks fell. A market led by energy, staples and health care rather than AI giants would look very different from the cap-weighted benchmark's recent leadership, and Friday offered a clear picture of what that kind of rotation does to the two measures.