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The equal-weight fund trailed on Friday, even as most stocks rose

3,204 US stocks rose and 2,393 fell on Friday, October 2, 2026, while the S&P 500 fund gained 0.74% and the equal-weight fund gained 0.35%.

· 2 min read · ETF.net Research

The classic stone facade and columns of the New York Stock Exchange building seen from a low angle.

Key takeaways

  • Four stocks did most of the gap between the funds.
  • Most stocks rose, and the equal-weight fund still trailed.
  • The equal-weight lead from Thursday lasted one day.
  • Equal-weight has now lost seven weeks in a row.

The S&P 500 fund beat the equal-weight fund by 0.39 percentage points on Friday, and four stocks did most of that. Most stocks in the wider market rose.

Of 5,841 common stocks on the NYSE, Nasdaq and NYSE American, 3,204 rose and 2,393 fell. Another 244 were unchanged.

SPY, the fund that holds the S&P 500, rose 0.74% to $769.67. RSP, which holds the same companies in equal amounts, rose 0.35% to $209.73.

On Thursday, RSP had led by 0.29 percentage points. The lead lasted one day.

Nvidia, Broadcom, Apple and Tesla are about a fifth of SPY, and together they added 0.34 percentage points, most of the gap. Tesla rose 4.7% and Broadcom rose 3.3%. In RSP each of the four is a fraction of a percent, too small to have done the same work.

The eight stocks that moved SPY the most accounted for about three-quarters of its gain. IWM, the fund that holds the Russell 2000, an index of small US companies, rose 0.89%. The eight that moved it the most accounted for about a sixth of that rise.

The small-cap gain was broad. The weaker gain was in the average large stock.

RSP trailed cap-weight and small-caps

Total returns, Friday, October 2, 2026

  • QQQ1.0%
  • IWM0.9%
  • SPY0.7%
  • RSP0.3%

QQQ led; equal-weight was last.

Seagate and Western Digital each fell 10.2%, the two largest drags on RSP, after Nikkei reported that Toshiba plans to double its capacity for hard drives used in data centers. Micron fell 2.1% and Sandisk fell 3.8%, while Nvidia and Broadcom rose.

Since Friday, September 25, SPY is down 0.22% and RSP is down 0.65%. IWM is down 0.17%. QQQ, the fund that holds the Nasdaq-100, is up 0.67%.

RSP still lost the week, its seventh weekly loss in a row. The run began the week ending August 21.

ETFs in this story

BRSPInvesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF62/100ASPYState Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF73/100AIWMiShares Russell 2000 ETF70/100AQQQInvesco QQQ Trust, Series 176/100

Frequently asked questions

How many stocks rose on Friday?

Of 5,841 common stocks on the NYSE, Nasdaq and NYSE American, 3,204 rose and 2,393 fell.

By how much did the equal-weight fund trail?

The S&P 500 fund beat the equal-weight fund by 0.39 percentage points, with SPY up 0.74% and RSP up 0.35%.

What drove most of the gap?

Nvidia, Broadcom, Apple and Tesla together added 0.34 percentage points, most of the gap.

Did equal-weight lose the week too?

RSP lost the week, its seventh straight weekly loss, starting with the week ending August 21.

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