NEW YORK, July 10, 2026 – Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) was the primary driver behind the S&P 500's advance on Friday, contributing an estimated 0.31 percentage point of the index's total move, or roughly 70% of the gain. The chipmaker's 4.03% rise, combined with its 7.58% weight in the index, propelled the benchmark to a new record close of 7,577.05, up 0.44%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.37% to 52,682.39, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.32% to close at 26,290.19. In contrast, the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks fell 0.46% to 2,978.75, highlighting a stark divergence between large-cap tech and smaller companies.
This concentration of market leadership has become increasingly difficult to ignore. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.25%, while the equal-weight S&P 500 ETF (RSP) dipped 0.28%. The Russell 2000 fell about 0.6% for a second consecutive week. Nvidia itself surged 8.28% since the July 2 close.
Market breadth on Friday showed 346 S&P 500 members trading higher against 157 laggards, but this strength was concentrated in large names. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) managed a 0.37% gain for the day, but its weekly performance underscored the broader trend of large-cap outperformance.
In the AI memory space, SK Hynix's American depositary receipts (NASDAQ:SKHYV) jumped 13.5% to $169.12, well above their $149 offer price, after the South Korean chip maker raised approximately $26.5 billion in a heavily oversubscribed offering. Orders exceeded available shares by more than seven times. The listing provides U.S. investors with direct exposure to the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, which is critical for AI chip data processing. In contrast, U.S. competitor Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) fell 1.29% to $978.84.
Looking ahead, earnings season takes center stage. Analysts project S&P 500 second-quarter profits will rise 24% year-over-year, led by the technology sector. The index currently trades at roughly 20 times forward earnings. “This is a high-bar quarter with a narrow margin of error,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) fell 1.81% to $87.39 despite beating its June-quarter outlook and guiding for third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2 to $2.50 per share. CEO Ed Bastian said Delta was “executing from a position of strength,” and TD Cowen analyst Tom Fitzgerald called the pullback a “buying opportunity.”
Macro factors could shift the dynamic quickly. The 10-year Treasury yield edged up 2.8 basis points to 4.567%, while U.S. crude fell 1.1% to $71.28. BMO senior economist Carl Campus noted oil has remained “remarkably calm,” but warned that any U.S.-Iran conflict could push crude prices higher, sparking fresh inflation and rate concerns that would hit growth stocks and increase borrowing costs for smaller firms.
Next week brings key earnings from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) on Thursday, along with results from five of the six largest U.S. banks on Tuesday. Data on consumer inflation, producer prices, and retail sales are also due. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to testify on Tuesday, and bond yields may react to the data.
Ultimately, the breadth test will be decisive. If equal-weight stocks and the Russell 2000 can move higher alongside the S&P 500, Friday's rally may have staying power. If they continue to lag, the S&P 500’s gains remain a bet on a narrow group of giants, with Nvidia taking the largest share.
