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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThe Nasdaq Composite was the only one of four major U.S. indexes to finish higher for the week ending Friday, October 2, 2026, rising 0.5%, according to The Associated Press. The Dow, Russell 2000 and S&P 500 ended lower, even though all four indexes advanced on Friday.
How the major indexes performed
These figures are The Associated Press’s reported weekly returns and Friday closing levels for the week ending October 2, 2026. The Dow is a price-weighted index of large U.S. companies; the S&P 500 covers large-cap stocks, while the Russell 2000 tracks small-cap stocks. The Nasdaq Composite includes thousands of Nasdaq-listed companies and has substantial exposure to technology, but its weekly change alone does not show which industries or stocks drove the result.
| Index | Change for the week | Friday change | Friday close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasdaq Composite | +0.5% | +1.2% | 27,190.86 |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | -1.3% | +0.5% | 51,176.96 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.2% | +0.9% | 2,832.90 |
| S&P 500 | -0.3% | +0.7% | 7,722.72 |
Source: The Associated Press, October 2, 2026. The direction over the full week differed from Friday’s session: the Nasdaq’s weekly gain was modest, while the Dow had the largest weekly decline among these four indexes.
Why did the Nasdaq rise while the Dow and small caps fell?
The index totals show different weekly outcomes, but they do not establish which Nasdaq-listed companies or industries account for the difference. The reviewed market accounts do not provide stock-level evidence that semiconductor or software shares led the Nasdaq’s weekly gain. It is therefore more accurate to describe the result as an index-level divergence than to attribute it specifically to chips or software.
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Friday’s rise came after a U.S. jobs report showed employers slowed hiring in September. The AP reported that the data eased concern that an overly strong economy could worsen inflation, and that traders pared bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike later in October. Treasury yields initially fell, then recovered some of their losses as oil prices rebounded from an early decline. That is the AP’s account of the Friday session, not proof that the jobs report alone caused the full week’s performance.
Did the Nasdaq hit a record?
The available AP account does not say that the Nasdaq Composite set a record that week. It says the S&P 500 was within 1% of its all-time high; that observation does not establish a Nasdaq record. A positive weekly return is not, by itself, evidence of a record high.
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Why do reported weekly percentages differ?
The Associated Press and an October 3, 2026, Stock Preachers release distributed by PR Newswire report slightly different weekly returns. The AP figures are used consistently in the comparison above; the release’s alternative figures are shown here so the discrepancy is clear, not blended with the AP data.
| Index | AP weekly return | Stock Preachers release weekly return |
|---|---|---|
| Nasdaq Composite | +0.5% | +0.44% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | -1.3% | -1.42% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.2% | -0.13% |
| S&P 500 | -0.3% | -0.31% |
The alternative figures are from Stock Preachers via PR Newswire, October 3, 2026. Differences may reflect rounding or calculation conventions; the release does not resolve the discrepancy in its visible text.
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What the weekly split does—and does not—show
The Nasdaq’s 0.5% weekly rise alongside losses in the other three indexes shows that their headline returns diverged over this particular week. It does not reveal market breadth, the share of Nasdaq constituents that advanced, or the proportion of performance attributable to any sector. Nor does the Russell 2000’s result describe every small-cap stock: it is an index, not a complete account of the entire small-cap market.
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