Nasdaq Sheds 1.65% as Russell 2000 Sinks to RSI 28, Oil Climbs While Gold and Silver Slide

Stock Preachers News Commentary 

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Stocks skidded midweek as the Nasdaq Composite dropped 449 points, or 1.65%, to 26,755.24, pulling its weekly loss to 2.23%. The S&P 500 fell 1.10% on the day and 1.18% for the week, while the Russell 2000 tumbled 1.70% and now carries an RSI of just 28.3, signaling deeply oversold small caps. The Dow held up relatively better, down 0.29%. Gold slid 1.93%, silver dropped 5.81%, and WTI crude bucked the trend, rising 1.36% to $95.42 a barrel. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: RTX (NYSE: RTX), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSX: ATD), and IBM (NYSE: IBM).

The broad equity retreat left every major index in the red for the week, with the Nasdaq's 2.23% weekly slide the steepest among the four. The S&P 500 sits just above its 50-day simple moving average support of 7,707.03, while the Dow trades right around its 20-day SMA support near 51,489.97, leaving both indices on the edge of short-term technical floors.

Volatility ticked higher but remained contained, with the VIX up 0.95 points to 16.22 and the VXN rising to 21.14. Both gauges stayed within their recent weekly ranges, suggesting the selloff has not yet triggered panic-level hedging even as the Russell 2000's RSI of 28.3 points to small-cap stress running well ahead of the broader market's unease.

Commodities sent a mixed signal. WTI crude's 1.36% daily gain and 66.18% year-to-date advance stood in sharp contrast to gold's 1.93% drop and silver's 5.81% slide, the latter now down 20.54% year to date. The 10-year Treasury yield edged up 3 basis points to 5.25%, while the euro slipped 0.33% against the dollar.

The full report lays out the index-by-index support and resistance ladder, sector standouts, and what traders are watching into the back half of the week.

The markets are certainly in a see-saw this week, you can read more news on these companies and other sectors at: https://stockpreachers.com/articles/energy-and-pharma-hold-the-fort-as-tech-takes-it-on-the-chin/

In other industry developments and happenings in the market this week include:

RTX (NYSE: RTX) Raytheon, an RTX business, has secured a five-year contract with two additional option years, valued up to $6.3 billion, for the production and sustainment of Standard Missile-3 Block IB interceptors. The award is part of recent agreements between Raytheon and the Department of War supporting replenishment of missile defense inventory used in combat.

Production will be primarily completed at Raytheon facilities in Tucson, Arizona and Huntsville, Alabama. "This award underscores Raytheon's commitment to increasing production of critical munitions, ensuring our customers have the defensive capabilities they need, when they need them," said Raytheon President Phil Jasper. Read the release.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Lockheed Martin debuted its new PAC-3 Edge interceptor, designed to counter hypersonic and advanced missile threats as part of the U.S. Army's Future Interceptor program. The company will advance development and begin testing in 2027 to prepare for rapid deployment by 2031.

PAC-3 Edge features a Lockheed Martin-built seeker from its Strigo Product Center, which received a $250 million investment, along with a multi-pulse solid rocket motor designed by Northrop Grumman. "Lockheed Martin's PAC-3 Edge interceptor leverages the combat-proven PAC-3 MSE, delivering even greater maneuverability, power and velocity to ensure the Army's layered defensive architecture remains the most advanced in the world," said Tim Cahill, Lockheed Martin, Missiles and Fire Control president. Read the release.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) Eli Lilly announced new exploratory data from the TOGETHER-PsO Phase 3b trial evaluating Taltz and Zepbound used together versus Taltz alone in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and obesity. By Week 36, the combination showed changes in 482 differentially expressed proteins versus 140 for Taltz alone, and 467 differentially expressed genes versus 16.

Approximately 61% of people with psoriasis also have obesity or overweight with at least one weight-related comorbidity, according to the release. "The broader biomarker changes observed with Taltz and Zepbound, including those associated with skin clearance, may point to a meaningful relationship between immune and metabolic biology," said Mark Genovese, M.D., senior vice president of Lilly Immunology development. Read the release.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSX: ATD) Alimentation Couche-Tard entered a definitive agreement with Irving Oil to acquire retail assets in Quebec and Ontario, including 50 retail sites already operated under the Quebec Alliance, two sites in Pembroke and Cornwall, Ontario, and fuel supply to 71 Couche-Tard owned and operated sites in Quebec.

The deal also covers 18 cardlock sites, 16 in Quebec and two in Ontario, with existing Irving Oil fleet customers continuing to be served under a long-term agreement. "This agreement builds on our longstanding relationship with Irving Oil and our experience operating these locations," said Stephane Trudel, Senior Vice President of Operations at Alimentation Couche-Tard. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including under the Competition Act. Read the release.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) IBM announced it has been selected for Stage C, the third phase of DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, advancing it through an independent verification process testing quantum hardware, systems engineering and architectures toward building a fault-tolerant quantum computer.

DARPA launched the initiative in 2024 to determine whether an industrially useful fault-tolerant quantum computer can be built by 2033. "IBM expects to deliver the first fault-tolerant system in 2029, and we plan to scale the value of quantum computing well beyond that timeline," said Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow. Read the release.

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