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The S&P 500 rose 14% in 2026 to record highs, even as more than 200 of its current constituents were down for the year. The gap reflects how a market-cap-weighted index can climb on large gains in a handful of heavyweight stocks while many smaller constituents lag. Those figures come from Reuters’ October 12, 2026 analysis, which examined current index members and excluded 18 companies removed from the S&P 500 during 2026.
How can the index rise while so many stocks fall?
The S&P 500 is weighted by market capitalization, so the largest companies have more influence on its return than smaller companies. A surge in a few large constituents can therefore lift the index even when declining stocks outnumber advancing ones. The headline index return is not the return of a typical constituent, and neither figure necessarily matches an individual investor’s portfolio.
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In Reuters’ October 12, 2026 analysis, the S&P 500 was up 14% for the year, but more than 200 current constituents were lower. The report’s stock-count analysis excludes 18 companies removed from the index during 2026, including some removed after their shares fell; it is not a complete accounting of every company that belonged to the index at any point that year.
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Reuters’ analysis of LSEG data put the median S&P 500 constituent’s 2026 gain at barely 4% as of October 12. The median is the middle stock when returns are ranked, so it better represents the experience of a typical constituent than the weighted index return does. A quarter of current index constituents were down 11% or more, according to Reuters.
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These measures answer different questions: the index shows the performance of a weighted basket, the median describes the midpoint stock, and the number of decliners shows how widely gains or losses were distributed. Reuters’ figures describe a dated snapshot, not a permanent condition of the market.
Which sectors and companies drove the rally?
Reuters reported on October 12 that eight of the S&P 500’s 11 sector indexes were positive in 2026. Technology was up 32% and energy 42%, but their impact on the broad index differed sharply because the sectors have different weights.
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| Measure | Reuters’ October 12, 2026 analysis |
|---|---|
| Technology sector return | Up 32% |
| Technology contribution to S&P 500 gain | More than 10 percentage points |
| Energy sector return | Up 42% |
| Energy contribution to S&P 500 gain | Less than one percentage point |
| Positive sector indexes | Eight of 11 |
The sector returns and contributions are not interchangeable: energy had the larger percentage gain, but technology added much more to the index’s rise. Reuters also reported that Sandisk and Micron Technology had each more than tripled in 2026 by the report date, amid concentrated advances in chipmakers and other companies connected to artificial intelligence.
Does the rally show broad market strength?
Another measure in Reuters’ October 12 report found that fewer than half of current S&P 500 companies were trading above their 200-day moving averages. A week earlier, the reading was 40%, its lowest since May 2025, Reuters reported.
This measure is different from year-to-date return. A stock can be up since January but still trade below its 200-day average, or be down for the year while trading above that trend line. Together, the measures indicate that the index’s record-level advance had not been shared evenly across its current constituents.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does Reuters say was behind the gap?
Reuters attributed the index’s strength to AI-related earnings growth and large-company gains, while reporting that profit expansion in other sectors remained tepid. It also described concerns that higher interest rates and oil prices could weigh on economic resilience, with industrials, consumer-goods sellers, and real estate companies among the areas facing pressure.
Those explanations include analyst views reported by Reuters, rather than proof that any one factor caused each stock’s move. Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, told Reuters: “Anything outside of the AI trade or companies that benefit from higher energy prices face huge headwinds in the form of higher oil and higher yields.” Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder, said: “AI is such a powerful story. I don’t think I’ve ever had as narrow a portfolio, in terms of themes, as I have now. I certainly own some non-AI names, but not many.”
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How should investors read the headline?
- Read the index’s 14% rise as a weighted market result, not as the return earned by every constituent.
- Use the median return and advancing-versus-declining counts to understand how broadly gains were shared.
- Keep the date and universe in view: Reuters’ October 12 snapshot covered current constituents and left out 18 companies removed during 2026.
- Do not treat the index’s performance as a forecast for an individual stock or a proxy for a portfolio with different holdings and weights.
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