Market Snapshot (as of ~11:00 AM ET)

Stocks are split at midday: the S&P 500 is down 0.32% at 7,718.95, the Nasdaq is down 1.30%, and the Dow is down 0.22%, while the Russell 2000 is up 1.17% (Pulsafi; Finnhub). The drag is tech: Alphabet plunged after a disappointing earnings report, reigniting worries about AI spending, while Microsoft rose on its own beat (Investopedia; Confluence Trading Tools). The Federal Reserve held rates at 3.75%–4.00% on Wednesday, and this morning’s core PCE print matched forecasts, so rates are not the story today (Confluence Trading Tools).

• SPY (S&P 500): -0.32%, index at 7,718.95 (Pulsafi, 11:02 AM ET)
• QQQ (Nasdaq-100): -1.30%, $716.17 (Finnhub)
• DIA (Dow): -0.32%, $523.01 as of 11:25 AM ET (MarketBeat)
• IWM (Russell 2000): +1.17%, $284.59 (Finnhub)
• VIX: ~16.7, down about 1% from the prior close of 16.91 (Cboe; Volalytics)
• 10-year Treasury yield: 4.97%, down 8 basis points (Pulsafi)
• Breadth: 8 of 11 sectors higher at midday (Pulsafi); intraday advance/decline counts were not available at publication time.

Sector Scan (ranked by intraday % change)

1. XLV (Health Care): +1.96%
2. XLRE (Real Estate): +1.69%
3. XLF (Financials): +1.66%
4. XLU (Utilities): +1.55%
5. XLY (Consumer Discretionary): +0.98%
6. XLP (Consumer Staples): +0.97%
7. XLB (Materials): +0.95%
8. XLI (Industrials): +0.81%
9. XLE (Energy): -0.39%
10. XLK (Technology): -1.21%
11. XLC (Communication Services): -1.75%

Source: Seeking Alpha sector data, crawled midday; Finnhub cross-checks agree (XLV +2.04%, XLRE +1.86%, XLF +1.43%, XLK -1.15%, XLE -0.37%).

Rotation Read

Classic defensive rotation, and a reversal from Wednesday, when tech led (XLK +0.8%) and utilities lagged (XLU -0.8%) (Zacks). Today health care, real estate, financials, and utilities lead while tech and communication services — home to Alphabet — lag. Small caps outperforming (+1.17% IWM vs. -1.30% QQQ) and a falling VIX (~16.7) say this is repositioning out of AI winners, not panic: money is rotating into steadier businesses while the index-level damage stays contained. The catch: the rotation is earnings-driven, and Amazon and Intel report after the close tonight — either can extend or reverse the AI selling (Confluence Trading Tools).

Top Stocks in the Leading Sectors

XLV — Health Care (+1.96%)

• LLY (Eli Lilly): +6.21%, $1,368.27 — Q3 revenue surged 39% to ~$24.4B and the company raised its full-year outlook to $91–92B (Finnhub; Stocktwits/Reuters).
• MRNA (Moderna): +3.28%, $221.20 (Finnhub)
• AMGN (Amgen): +1.55%, $458.83 (Finnhub)

XLRE — Real Estate (+1.69%)

• CBRE (CBRE Group): +2.81%, $127.18 (Finnhub)
• WELL (Welltower): +2.49%, $232.86 (Finnhub)
• PLD (Prologis): +1.97%, $127.69 (Finnhub)

Real estate’s gain tracks the 8bp drop in the 10-year yield to 4.97%, which eases pressure on rate-sensitive REITs (Pulsafi).

Sources

• Pulsafi, Today’s Market Pulse, Oct 29, 2026 (11:02 AM ET snapshot)
• Finnhub market data (QQQ, IWM, XLV, XLRE, XLF, XLK, XLE, LLY, MRNA, AMGN, CBRE, WELL, PLD)
• Seeking Alpha, Market Sectors Data (sector ranking)
• Cboe VIX Index Dashboard (VIX 16.77, -0.83%, 10:03 AM ET)
• Volalytics VIX Dashboard (VIX 16.63, Oct 29, 9:26 AM CDT)
• MarketBeat (DIA $523.01, -0.32%, 11:25 AM ET)
• Investopedia, 5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens, Oct 29, 2026
• Confluence Trading Tools, CTT AI Analyst Pre-Market Briefing, Oct 29
• Zacks, Stock Market News for Oct 29, 2026 (Wednesday’s session recap)
• Stocktwits / Reuters, Eli Lilly Q3 earnings coverage, Oct 29, 2026