iQUANT Weekly Market Pulse

For the Week Ending October 23, 2026

Markets Overview

U.S. equities slipped for the week, with the S&P 500 finishing -0.43%. Small caps stole the show, outpacing large caps by 2.13 points. Mid caps landed at +0.03%. Value edged out growth in large caps, +1.13% to -1.76%. Breadth was broad — only 7 of 10 sectors advanced. Energy led (+1.60%), while Telecom lagged (-4.36%). International markets moved with the U.S., finishing -1.46% on average — roughly in step with domestic equities. Latin America was the strongest region at +0.40%. Among individual countries, Brazil stood out at +1.82%. Bonds offered a little support at +0.06%. Commodities were quietly higher, with broad commodities at +1.59%. Energy was the biggest mover of the group at +3.12%. Against the dollar, Japanese Yen was strongest (+0.79%) and Euro weakest (-0.31%).

Index Performance Detail

Value stocks did better than growth in a down week, falling 1.13% versus growth's 1.76% loss. Small caps surprisingly outperformed.

Large Cap

Core-0.43%

Value+1.13%

Growth-1.76%

Mid Cap

Core+0.03%

Value+1.27%

Growth-1.24%

Small Cap

Core+1.70%

Value+1.99%

Growth+1.39%

Sector Performance

Energy emerged as the strongest performer, advancing +1.60%, while Telecom retreated -4.36%. Broad sector breadth supported gains across the board.

Cyclical

Materials+0.77%

Financials+0.68%

Cons. Disc.+0.57%

Sensitive

Energy+1.60%

Technology-0.13%

Industrials-1.87%

Telecom-4.36%

Defensive

Healthcare+1.45%

Utilities+0.83%

Cons. Staples+0.73%

International Markets

Latin America led the way internationally, up +0.40%. That beat the S&P 500 by 0.83pp. Brazil was the bright spot, up +1.82%. Only 1 of 4 regions had gains.

Region

Week

Latin America+0.40%

Pacific-0.90%

Europe-1.20%

Africa-4.14%

Top 3 Countries

Brazil+1.82%

Australia+1.36%

South Korea+0.55%

Bottom 3 Countries

Peru-5.94%

South Africa-3.28%

Chile-2.91%

Fixed Income & Bonds

Core bonds finished at +0.61%. High yield underperformed at +0.25%, while emerging market bonds were at +0.14%.

Bond Performance

US Core Bond+0.61%

International Bonds-0.77%

Emerging Debt+0.14%

High Yield+0.25%

Credit Spread Analysis

Core vs High Yield

0.36pp

Best Performer

US Core Bond: +0.61%

Commodities

Commodities finished at +1.59%. Energy was the best performer at +3.12%, while Precious Metals struggled at -4.31%.

All Commodities

Broad Commodities+1.59%

Agriculture-1.28%

Base Metals+0.73%

Energy+3.12%

Precious Metals-4.31%

Range & Volatility

Material Moves

Energy+3.12%

Broad Commodities+1.59%

Agriculture-1.28%

Spread (High–Low)

7.43%

Currencies & Digital Assets

The dollar gained +0.14% this week. Japanese Yen was the strongest performer while Euro lagged.

Currency Performance

US Dollar Index+0.14%

Euro-0.31%

Japanese Yen+0.79%

British Pound+0.35%

Digital Assets

Bitcoin (BTC)-0.52%

Ethereum (ETH)-1.47%

Solana (SOL)-1.45%

XRP-1.23%