NEW YORK, September 2, 2026, 13:08 (EDT) — Small cap stocks advanced ahead of broader Wall Street benchmarks as crude oil prices hovered near $91 per barrel.
- By 13:00 EDT, the Russell 2000 was up 0.93%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.45%.
- At 13:03 EDT, 4,010 U.S. listings were advancing while 2,448 were declining, out of a total of 7,120 traded stocks.
- WTI crude hit $91.00 as the 10-year Treasury yield remained close to 4.80%.
At 13:00 EDT, the Russell 2000 was up 0.93%, outpacing the S&P 500’s 0.45% increase. More stable oil prices and bond yields encouraged investors to look past the biggest stocks.
The broadening trend was significant. On Nasdaq’s U.S. stock screener, gainers outnumbered losers by a ratio of 1.64 to one. In addition, the total traded shares for advancing stocks were 2.26 times that of those declining.
Momentum among large-caps slowed over the past hour, with the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq each slipping roughly 0.12% to 0.14%. The Russell held flat while WTI crude rose from $90.61 to $91.00.
Small caps kept the hourly lead
Source: Yahoo Finance intraday index data. Values use the closest completed one-minute observation at 13:00 EDT.
The recovery came after two consecutive declines. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, and the Nasdaq slipped 1.0%. Brent crude surged 4.6%, as the 10-year yield touched 4.79%.
The employment data released Wednesday pointed to a milder trend. ADP said 38,000 private sector jobs were created in August, marking the slowest increase since January. The manufacturing sector cut 17,000 jobs.
The rebound reached most traded listings
· 7,120 U.S.-listed securities with reported volume
Source: Nasdaq Stock Screener; totals calculated from the downloaded current listing set.
Leadership in sectors became more widespread. Communication services advanced by 1.88% and materials climbed 1.69%. Real estate declined 0.78%, with technology edging down 0.19%.
Leadership favored breadth over duration
· Select Sector SPDR funds
Source: Yahoo Finance intraday ETF data. Positive and negative bars share a 2% half-scale.
Earnings drove significant price moves. Dell Technologies NYSE:DELL rose 7.5% after disclosing an AI-server backlog of $95 billion. Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA climbed 4.3%.
Shares of GitLab NASDAQ:GTLB jumped 12.2% following a 21% increase in quarterly revenue. CEO Bill Staples described the period as “an exceptional quarter” featuring all-time high gross bookings. GitLab results
Losses were also significant. Credo Technology NASDAQ:CRDO dropped 19.5%, even with a 115% increase in revenue. MongoDB NASDAQ:MDB declined 12.2% following a 30% rise in sales and raised annual guidance.
Earnings widened the stock-level range
· bar length uses a 20% scale
Source: Nasdaq market activity; company releases linked in the article.
The split highlighted investors prioritising backlog and order visibility over all AI-related growth rates. This selective approach came alongside a wider rebound in the index.
Risks: Crude held close to $91, with the 10-year yield near 4.80%. Any further rise in energy prices or rates could swiftly reverse market breadth.
By 13:00, small caps maintained their advantage, but the drop in large caps indicated buyers were no longer pushing the main indexes upward.
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