NEW YORK, September 2, 2026, 14:00 EDT
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF rose 0.99% by 14:00 EDT, beating SPY’s 0.40% gain.
- IWM added 0.08% from 13:00 to 14:00 EDT; SPY lost 0.04% and QQQ fell 0.10%.
- Materials led sectors as WTI crude reached $91.02 and the 10-year Treasury yield held near 4.79%.
Small-cap shares held a 1% gain on Wednesday afternoon. That was more than twice the broader market’s advance. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF NYSEARCA:IWM traded at $293.46 at 14:00 EDT Yahoo Finance minute data.
The lead pointed to a wider risk bid after Tuesday’s selloff. It did not rest on megacap technology alone. Materials and financial shares advanced while the technology sector slipped.
The S&P 500 stood at 7,664.45, up 0.43%. The Dow added 0.45% to 53,002.57. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.34% to 26,187.33. An Associated Press market check showed similar gains at 13:28 EDT.
Small caps kept the lead; tech faded in the last hour
Percentage change through
Source: Yahoo Finance one-minute prints; changes calculated from prior close and 13:00 EDT. Values are delayed snapshots, not live streaming.
The preceding hour was quieter. IWM added 0.08%, and the SPDR Dow ETF NYSEARCA:DIA gained 0.02%. SPY eased 0.04%. The Invesco QQQ Trust NASDAQ:QQQ lost 0.10%.
Breadth supported the move. A delayed screen found 294 advancers and 195 decliners among 491 S&P 500 members MarketsFN. Still, SPY volume through 14:00 was 31% below Tuesday’s comparable window.
Breadth improved, but broad-market volume stayed light
59.9% advanced among 491 tracked members.
Versus 19.86 million by the same time Tuesday, down 30.6%.
Sources: MarketsFN constituent screen and Yahoo Finance one-minute SPY volume, captured through 14:00 EDT.
Materials posted the clearest sector gain. The Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) rose 1.99%. Communication services added 1.69%. Real estate lost 0.66%, and technology fell 0.26% sector ETF prices.
Sector leadership favored cyclicals and defensives
Source: Yahoo Finance; Select Sector SPDR ETF changes from Tuesday’s close to 14:00 EDT.
Oil and rates still limited the rally. WTI crude reached $91.02 at its latest delayed print. The 10-year Treasury yield held near 4.79%. The Cboe Volatility Index fell 6.5% to 15.27.
The Energy Information Administration reported a 4.5-million-barrel crude draw. Gasoline stocks fell 1.2 million barrels. Distillate inventories rose 0.8 million barrels.
Hiring data sent a softer signal. ADP said private employers added 38,000 jobs in August, the slowest pace since January. Manufacturing shed 17,000 positions. Education and health services added 45,000.
The cross-asset signals pulling on equities
Sources: Yahoo Finance delayed market prints and ADP.
Company moves remained sharp. Dell Technologies NYSE:DELL gained 8.78% to $462.32. MongoDB NASDAQ:MDB fell 12.38% to $380.46. GitLab NASDAQ:GTLB held a 9.94% gain, while Meta Platforms NASDAQ:META added 2.33%.
Dell reported $60.9 billion of quarterly AI-server orders. Revenue reached $16.4 billion, and backlog ended at $95 billion. Chief operating officer Jeff Clarke said customer investment was “creating opportunity across our portfolio.”
Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA rose 3.23% to $224.47. Its $3.5 billion convertible-bond investment in MediaTek supported the shares. Yet the broader technology ETF remained negative.
Earnings and AI deals split the company tape
Source: Yahoo Finance; change from Tuesday’s close to the 14:00 EDT one-minute print.
Friday’s government employment report is the next broad test. Next week’s inflation data follow. Both can shift expectations before the Federal Reserve’s September decision.
Risks: Oil remains near a six-week high, and Treasury yields are elevated. Light ETF volume weakens the rally’s confirmation. Another technology reversal could narrow breadth quickly.
The afternoon message was measured. Investors favored smaller and cyclical shares, but the last hour added little. The closing auction will test whether that rotation has depth.
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