Apertura Wall Street: el S&P 500 cae un 0,58% al inicio

Wall Street opens with selling and the market turns back to rates: Wall Street open

The Wall Street open shows a clearly bearish start: the S&P 500 is trading at 7,618.94 points at 15:40 (7:40 in Mexico City), down 0.58%. To me, it looks like a rather telling start: the 10-year Treasury yield rises, the VIX picks up, and money leaves banks and large tech stocks at the same time. A bad mix to begin the session.

Quotes at 15:40 (Madrid time) on October 23, 2026.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq: pressure on indices with selective rebound in chips

The S&P 500 is moving near the lower end of the opening range, with a low of 7,615.69 and a high of 7,637.18. The Nasdaq Composite is down 0.39% to 25,906.98 points, quite a bit less than the broader index. That difference matters, because it suggests the weakness is not indiscriminate selling, but rather a rotation that punishes financials and cyclical consumer stocks more than part of the technology block.

Among the mega-cap names, Apple is up 0.48%, AMD is advancing 1.27%, Qualcomm is gaining 1.41%, and Micron is adding 1.97%. They do not fully offset the declines in Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, or Meta, but they do prevent a sharper deterioration in the Nasdaq during the first few minutes. The S&P 500’s problem lies further down the line: when the 10-year Treasury yield approaches 4.968% and volatility jumps 7.72%, valuations are once again being examined with less patience.

Dow Jones and Russell 2000: the sell-off is concentrated in more cyclical names

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.17% to 52,250.32 points, making it the weakest index at the open. Financial and industrial names such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Boeing are weighing on it, all in the red. The Russell 2000 is down 0.89% to 2,759.37 points, but the weakest tone is in the Dow: when money reduces exposure to banks and cyclical stocks, the message is usually more serious than a simple tech stumble.

The move is also easier to understand thanks to the divergence in energy. Brent is down 2.28% to $110.59, while WTI is up 2.19% to $101.65. Even with that split, ExxonMobil and Chevron are starting higher, which indicates that part of the market is still looking for shelter in companies linked to raw materials and immediate cash flow.

Biggest movers at the open

Two groups stand out to me. The first is semiconductors: AMD, Qualcomm, and Micron are managing to stay in the green despite the weak opening in the indices. The second is financials: JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are correcting clearly, and that fits with a market once again pricing in a demanding cost of money for longer.

Among the day’s earnings, American Express, SLB, Infosys, and ENI were reporting before the open. Rather than looking for loud headlines, it is better to watch what the price does with those names in the first half hour. The market is often brutally honest when a good number arrives at the wrong time.

What this means for Europe and LatAm

Europe is heading into the U.S. open with an already weaker tone. The IBEX 35 is down 0.31% to 18,854.00 points, and the Euro Stoxx 50 is off 0.86% to 6,034.51. This morning’s preliminary PMIs offered a mixed picture: France is weak, Germany is holding up better, and the euro area as a whole is losing some momentum. If Wall Street does not recover soon, the European close will be less heroic than one would like.

For Latin America, today’s key market cross is the dollar. The dollar index is rising to 101.72 and the euro is slipping to 1.1207. There is no sign of extreme stress, but there is a somewhat tougher backdrop for currencies and assets sensitive to global liquidity. When the greenback and real yields rise, emerging markets tend to appreciate facts more than good intentions.

Afternoon agenda (Madrid time)

• 15:45 (7:45 in Mexico City): U.S. manufacturing PMI
• 15:45 (7:45 in Mexico City): U.S. services PMI
• 16:00 (8:00 in Mexico City): Michigan consumer sentiment
• 16:00 (8:00 in Mexico City): Michigan inflation expectations
• 10/27/2026 and 10/28/2026: Fed meeting; statement at 19:00 (12:00 in Mexico City)
• 10/28/2026 and 10/29/2026: ECB meeting; decision at 14:15 (7:15 in Mexico City)
• 22:00 (14:00 in Mexico City): Wall Street close

My take

I think the market is showing something quite concrete: a rebound in part of the chip sector is not enough if financial conditions are tightening at the same time. A S&P 500 below yesterday’s close, with the 10-year yield at 4.968% and the VIX above 20, seems to me a combination that is more compatible with caution than complacency. For me, today’s open matters more for what it reveals about the cost of money than for the color of any single screen.

What would make me change my mind? A quick turnaround after the 15:45 (7:45 in Mexico City) U.S. PMIs, with a clear improvement in the S&P 500 above the intraday low of 7,615.69 and a cooling in Treasury yields. If that does not happen and the index loses that initial floor with follow-through, the risk is pretty simple: the market may once again start pricing in rates staying high for longer than many would care to admit.

To go deeper

• My previous analysis: S&P 500 and Nasdaq today: tech leads the start
• Stock investing guide — basic concepts for making better decisions

This article provides general financial information and does not constitute investment advice. Investing involves risk of losing the capital invested.