Wall Street open: S&P 500 -0.35% at 7636.85, Nasdaq 100 +0.21%

The S&P 500 traded at 7636.85 at 10:00 in New York on Friday, October 23, 2026, down 0.35% from the previous close. The Nasdaq 100 moved the other way and stood at 29019.73, up 0.21%.

What happened

The S&P 500 was at 7636.85 half an hour after the opening bell. That is 26.58 points below the previous close of 7663.43, a change of -0.35%. The index tracks large US companies across all sectors.

The Nasdaq 100 showed a different picture. It stood at 29019.73, up 61.04 points, or 0.21%, from a previous close of 28958.69. The index holds the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange, and technology firms carry a heavy weight in it.

The split between the two benchmarks meant the broad market and the technology-heavy index pointed in opposite directions at the start of the session. These are early-session levels, and they change as trading continues through the day.

The New York Stock Exchange regular session runs from 09:30 to 16:00 local time. The readings in this report come from the first half hour of that window, so they describe the start of trading and not a finished day.

Volatility and the tech backdrop

The CBOE Volatility Index, known as the VIX, stood at 19.92 in the early session. That is 0.89 points, or 4.68%, above the previous close of 19.03. The VIX is a gauge built from options prices on the S&P 500. It shows how much investors are paying for protection against swings in the index, and a higher reading means options markets are pricing in larger moves.

The session follows a difficult day for technology shares. On Thursday the Nasdaq Composite logged its worst day in three months. Renewed doubts over AI spending weighed on the sector, and market participants were still digesting that move at the start of Friday trading.

The Nasdaq Composite is a broader index than the Nasdaq 100, because it includes all stocks listed on the exchange. At 10:00 on Friday the Nasdaq 100 was higher, while the S&P 500 was lower. The two readings describe different baskets of stocks, so they do not need to move together.

The three readings above are therefore the full picture of how the main US gauges stood at 10:00 in New York: one lower, one higher and a volatility gauge that had risen.

American Express results

American Express (AXP) published quarterly results before the market opened. Earnings per share were 4.68 USD, against an estimate of 4.5 USD. Revenue was 20.06 billion USD, against an estimate of 20.12 billion USD.

Earnings per share show the profit attributed to each ordinary share. Revenue measures the total income the company generated from its business over the period. Market participants usually read the two figures together, because they describe profit and sales separately.

American Express is a payments and card company, so its report adds detail on the financial side of the US economy. It is the main company result scheduled before the open on Friday.

Earnings per share came in at 4.68 USD, above the 4.5 USD estimate. Revenue came in at 20.06 billion USD, below the 20.12 billion USD estimate.

Why it matters

The opening readings show how the main US benchmarks are reacting after the technology sell-off of the previous session. A lower S&P 500 alongside a higher Nasdaq 100 shows that the reaction was not uniform across the main indexes at 10:00.

The rise in the VIX means that the cost of options protection on the S&P 500 was higher than at the previous close. The index stood at 19.92, up from 19.03. The reading describes where expected volatility stands at this moment. It does not say how the session will end.

Doubts over AI spending are a theme for the technology sector, because many large listed companies are linked to investment in that area. Thursday showed that this theme can move the Nasdaq Composite sharply. The Nasdaq 100 gain of 0.21% at 10:00 on Friday sits next to that background.

Company reports such as the one from American Express give a view of how individual businesses are performing. The earnings per share of 4.68 USD and revenue of 20.06 billion USD are the figures that market participants read first when a company reports.

Earnings season also gives context to index moves. When large companies report, their figures feed into how investors view the profits behind the broad indexes. A single report does not decide the direction of a benchmark, but it adds one data point to the picture.

What to watch next

The New York Stock Exchange session runs from 09:30 to 16:00 local time, so most of the trading day remains. The next data points are the later readings of the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 relative to their previous closes of 7663.43 and 28958.69.

The VIX is the second gauge to follow. It stood at 19.92 against a previous close of 19.03, and its path through the session will show whether expected volatility keeps rising or eases.

Technology shares remain in focus after the worst day for the Nasdaq Composite in three months. Further news on AI spending could shape how the sector trades. Attention will also turn to how shares of American Express react to a report that showed earnings per share of 4.68 USD and revenue of 20.06 billion USD.

The closing levels at 16:00 in New York will give the full picture of how the day compared with the previous close for each index.