The Market Had a Bad Week. A Lot of the Market Didn’t.

Why the headline number can hide how much of your money rides on the same few companies.

WEEKLY BLOG 10/19/26 – 10/23/26

What the headlines said, and what happened

The Nasdaq fell about 4.5% for the week ending October 16. That was its worst week since June. The S&P 500 fell about 2%. Chip stocks led the way down as investors started wondering how long the AI spending boom can last.

Meanwhile the Dow finished the week up. On Friday alone, as chip stocks slid, energy, utilities and consumer staples all moved higher. Plenty of companies that make ordinary things for ordinary customers had a perfectly fine week.

Index	Week ending Oct. 16	What it mostly reflects
Nasdaq Composite	Down 4.5%	Heavy in tech and chips
S&P 500	Down 1.9%	Weighted by company size
Dow Jones Industrial Average	Up 0.7%	30 large, more varied companies

Source: Associated Press, weekly index returns for the week ending October 16, 2026.

So the market had a bad week. A lot of the market didn’t.

The index you own is more lopsided than you think

The S&P 500 is weighted by size. The bigger the company, the more it counts. That’s always been true. What’s changed is how top heavy it’s gotten. The 10 largest companies now make up roughly 40% of the index, and most of them are tied to technology and the AI buildout.

Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P 500 Factsheet, data as of September 30, 2026.

When a handful of giants have a rough week, the headline number has a rough week. It barely matters what the other 490 companies did.

I don’t know where AI stocks go from here. Nobody on TV does either. My point is simpler. Most people have more riding on a few companies than they realize.

The concentration you can’t see

I see the same pattern over and over with the people I work with. Nobody planned it. It just piled up.

An S&P 500 index fund in the current 401(k), with about 40% sitting in 10 companies
A target date fund in an old 401(k) that owns the same companies again
RSUs or options from an employer in tech, or from a company that lives off tech spending
A brokerage account with a few familiar names, bought because you like the products

Each piece looks reasonable on its own. Put them together and a big chunk of your net worth rides on the same few companies, the same industry, the same story. If you work in that industry, your paycheck and your bonus ride on it too.

Four accounts. One bet.

The bigger risk is the reaction

I’ve been doing this a long time. The most expensive mistakes I’ve seen rarely come from what the market does. They come from what people do because of what the market does.

A scary headline turns into a rushed decision. Selling at the wrong time. Walking away from a plan. Chasing whatever just went up. Morningstar’s annual Mind the Gap study has found year after year that investors earn less than the funds they own, largely because of when they buy and sell.

The math usually works. The behavior is what breaks.

A week like last week is a small test. If a few days of red in a handful of big names made your stomach drop, pay attention to that. It might mean your portfolio is more concentrated than your nerves can handle. It might mean you don’t have a plan you trust enough to ignore the noise.

Five things worth knowing about your own money

You don’t need to predict the market. You do need to know these.

How much of your total net worth sits in the 10 largest U.S. companies. Count the 401(k), IRAs, brokerage account and company stock. Most people guess low.
Whether your RSUs and options have a plan or are just piling up. Vesting isn’t a strategy.
Whether your accounts work together or were built one at a time, at different jobs, by different people.
What it would cost in taxes to reduce concentration, and how to spread that cost over several years. Gains can often be managed. Rarely by accident.
What you’d actually do when the headlines get loud, and why.

Most people can’t answer these quickly. That’s normal. The answers aren’t on any one statement. They only show up when someone lays the whole picture out at once.

Where I could be wrong

Concentration has paid people well for a long time. The biggest companies got big for real reasons, and trimming them has often meant giving up returns in the short run. Diversifying can feel like a mistake for years before it looks smart. That’s the trade. I’m not trying to time anything. I’m trying to make sure one industry’s bad year doesn’t become your bad decade.

The plan is the product

I wrote about this a while back in The Plan Is the Product, and weeks like this are why it keeps coming up. The portfolio is a tool. The plan is the thing that matters.

A good plan doesn’t guess next week’s winners. It makes sure no single company, industry or headline can derail the things you care about. Retirement. College. The business. The house you worked for. It decides ahead of time what you’ll do when markets get noisy, so you don’t have to decide in the moment.

For a well diversified investor, last week was mostly traffic on someone else’s road.

Last week the headline said the market had a bad week. Knowing which road you’re on is worth an hour. Mapping every account, the company stock and the tax cost of changing any of it, all in one place, is most of what we do in a first conversation.

Sources

Associated Press, “How major US stock indexes fared Friday 10/16/2026.” Weekly index returns (Nasdaq down 4.5%, S&P 500 down 1.9%, Dow up 0.7%), worst week since June, chip stocks and AI buildout concerns. https://www.lanacion.com.ar/usa/how-major-us-stock-indexes-fared-friday-10162026-nid16102026/

Stockti, “Semiconductor Selloff Sinks Nasdaq 2.1%; Weekly Tech Slide Deepens,” October 16, 2026. Friday sector moves in energy, consumer staples and utilities. https://stockti.com/semiconductor-selloff-sinks-nasdaq-2-1-weekly-tech-slide-deepens

S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P 500 Factsheet, data as of September 30, 2026. Top 10 constituents at 39.1% of the index. https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/

Morningstar, US Mind the Gap 2026. Investor return gap of 1.2 percentage points per year over the 10 years ended December 31, 2025. https://www.morningstar.com/content/cs-assets/v3/assets/blt9415ea4cc4157833/blt852a4301adc2f5db/6a7373d51f7b5ae2da78e1e8/US_Mind_the_Gap_2026.pdf

Stock Market Calendar This Week:

Time (ET)	Report
Monday, Oct. 19
	No major U.S. economic data scheduled
Tuesday, Oct. 20
8:30 AM	Housing Starts and Building Permits (September)
10:00 AM	Pending Home Sales (September)
Earnings	Third-quarter results from Netflix, General Motors, GE Aerospace, RTX, 3M, and Northrop Grumman
Wednesday, Oct. 21
Earnings	Third-quarter results from Meta Platforms, Tesla, IBM, Lam Research, Texas Instruments, and AT&T
Thursday, Oct. 22
8:30 AM	Weekly Jobless Claims
Earnings	Third-quarter results from Procter & Gamble
Friday, Oct. 23
9:45 AM	S&P Global Flash Manufacturing and Services PMIs (October)
Earnings	Third-quarter results from American Express

Source: Census Bureau, National Association of Realtors, Department of Labor, and S&P Global release schedules; company earnings dates per Nasdaq. Times are Eastern and subject to change.

Did you miss our last blog?

Bonds Just Had Their Worst Quarter in Decades. The Experts Disagree on What Happens Next.

About Amit: I am a first generation American, the son of a working-class Indian family, and I lived through my parents’ struggle to find their place in this country, to put down roots that would sustain them as well as their children in a new land. As they encouraged me to excel in school and fostered my hobbies and interests, I was keenly aware of the dynamic between them. I understood that there was a difference between where they came from individually and where we were now. They worked hard in their individual capacities, but they weren’t always on the same page about financial issues – and that can make or break a family’s future. I didn’t know it at the time, but this laid the groundwork for my passion towards financial services and helping families succeed.

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLOSURE

The information and material contained in this communication is confidential and intended for the recipient addressee named. If you are not the intended recipient please delete the message and notify the sender immediately.

NewEdge Advisors, LLC is an Investment Adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any information provided has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of any description of securities, markets or developmentsmentioned. As a precautionary measure, we cannot rely on e-mail requests to authorize, direct or effect the purchase or sale of any security, wire transfer, or to affect any other transactions. Such requests, orders, or other instructions sent by email should be confirmed verbally, prior to their anticipated execution. We are unable to ensure email sent to you from us, or sent from you to us will be received. Please contact us at 845-652-3449 if there is any change in your financial situation, needs, goals or objectives, or if you wish to initiate any restrictions on the management of the account or modify existing restrictions. Additionally, we recommend you compare any account reports from NewEdge Advisors LLC with the account statements from your Custodian. Please notify us if you do not receive statements from your Custodian on at least a quarterly basis. Our current disclosure brochure, Form ADV Part 2, is available for your review upon request. This disclosure brochure, or a summary of material changes made, is also provided to our clients on an annual basis. This material was prepared with the assistance of AI. All content has been reviewed, edited, and approved by Forefront Wealth Planning prior to use. This is general education and not a substitute for personalized tax, legal, or investment advice. Your situation should be reviewed with the appropriate professionals before taking action. Advisory services offered through NewEdge Advisors, LLC, a registered investment adviser.

The Market Had a Bad Week. A Lot of the Market Didn’t.