Wall Street open: S&P 500 at 7731.81, Nasdaq 100 at 29714.27

US equities opened higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 at 7731.81 at 10:00 New York time, up 0.25% from the previous close. The Nasdaq 100 stood at 29714.27, a gain of 0.76%.

What happened

The S&P 500 traded at 7731.81 at 10:00 New York time on October 21, 2026. That is 19.24 points above the previous close of 7712.57, a gain of 0.25%. The session at the New York Stock Exchange started at 09:30 local time and runs until 16:00.

The Nasdaq 100 moved more than the broader index. It stood at 29714.27, which is 223.99 points above the previous close of 29490.28, or 0.76%. The technology-heavy index therefore showed the larger percentage move of the two in the first half hour of trading.

The CBOE Volatility Index, a measure of expected stock market swings drawn from option prices, stands at 17. The previous close was 17.31, so the gauge is down 0.31 points, or -1.79%. The level can change through the session.

Earnings before the bell

Four large US companies reported quarterly results before the open. They span health care, life sciences and financial market infrastructure. Each published earnings per share (EPS) and revenue, and the figures are set out company by company below.

Elevance Health reported EPS of 6.99 USD, against an estimate of 4.71 USD. Its revenue came in at 50.44 billion USD, against an estimate of 49.22 billion USD. The gap between its EPS and the 4.71 USD estimate was the widest of the four reports.

Danaher reported EPS of 2.11 USD, against an estimate of 1.92 USD. Revenue was 6.55 billion USD, against an estimate of 6.56 billion USD.

CME Group reported EPS of 3.02 USD, against an estimate of 2.99 USD. Its revenue was 1.74 billion USD, against an estimate of 1.71 billion USD.

Abbott Laboratories reported EPS of 1.42 USD, equal to the estimate of 1.42 USD. Revenue was 13.01 billion USD, against an estimate of 12.99 billion USD.

Other premarket movers

Several other companies drew attention in premarket trading. Intuitive Surgical, the medical robotics company, slid 6% after its third-quarter results failed to impress investors. The company earned 3 USD per share, excluding certain items, on revenue of 3.05 billion USD.

SpaceX shares rose 8% before the open after the company reported that third-quarter revenue jumped 161% to 14.58 billion USD. The same market summary listed Super Micro Computer and Dell among the names with large premarket moves. Netflix fell almost 7% in premarket trading after its quarterly report.

These moves are company-specific. They show that the session opened with results arriving across several sectors at once, from medical technology to space and streaming. They do not describe the direction of any single sector.

How the indexes compare

The gap between the two main indexes is useful context. The S&P 500 is a broad gauge of large US companies. The Nasdaq 100 tracks the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange, and it carries a heavy weight in technology. At 10:00 the Nasdaq 100 gain of 0.76% was about three times the S&P 500 gain of 0.25%.

The VIX moved in the opposite direction to stock prices. It slipped to 17 from 17.31. Such an inverse pattern is common when equity indexes rise, although the two do not always move together.

In points, the Nasdaq 100 advanced 223.99 while the S&P 500 advanced 19.24. The two indexes use different scales, so the percentage changes are the fairer way to compare them. Both started the day from the previous closes of 29490.28 and 7712.57.

Why it matters

The earnings season gives investors direct information on company revenue and profit. Results from health care and life sciences groups such as Abbott, Danaher and Elevance show how those businesses performed in the quarter. CME Group's report adds a view on a company tied to trading activity in futures and other markets.

The reports also show how widely results can differ across companies. Elevance's EPS of 6.99 USD compares with a 4.71 USD estimate, while Abbott's EPS of 1.42 USD matched its 1.42 USD estimate exactly. Index moves at the open reflect many separate company stories, not one theme.

The premarket reaction to results was also mixed. Intuitive Surgical fell 6% and Netflix fell almost 7%, while SpaceX rose 8%. The same earnings season therefore produced moves in both directions on the same morning.

The volatility reading adds context. A VIX at 17 after a previous close of 17.31 indicates that option markets priced slightly less expected movement at the start of this session than at the end of the last one. It does not predict how the rest of the day will unfold.

What to watch next

The New York session continues until 16:00 local time, so the index levels in this article are a snapshot from the first half hour. The closing figures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 will show whether the opening gains held.

Market participants will also follow how the stocks that reported before the bell trade through the day, including Elevance, Danaher, CME Group and Abbott. They will track the premarket movers named above, including Intuitive Surgical, SpaceX and Netflix. More earnings reports are expected as the season continues, and each one adds data on revenue and profit across sectors.

The VIX will remain a reference for how much movement options markets expect. Its level of 17 and its previous close of 17.31 give the starting points for that comparison during the rest of the session.