Research Quarterly: Equity and Related

Key Takeaways for 3Q26

• In 3Q26, U.S. equity performance varied. Large-cap benchmarks posted modest gains, while the Dow and small caps declined. Major indices reached record highs during the quarter, but higher oil prices and a rise in Treasury yields to multiyear highs weighed on markets later in the period. Energy was the only sector to post positive returns across all market-cap tiers. The S&P 500 ended 3Q26 at 7,651.54 (+2.0% Q/Q, +14.4% Y/Y), the Nasdaq Composite rose to 26,861.06 (+2.5% Q/Q, +18.5% Y/Y), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to 50,906.05 (-2.7% Q/Q, +9.7% Y/Y), and the Russell 2000 declined to 2,796.86 (-7.5% Q/Q, +14.8% Y/Y).
• Volatility remained contained – the VIX decreased to a quarterly average of 16.1% (-2.3 pps Q/Q, +0.1 pps Y/Y). Volumes for equities, ETFs, and options decreased further after posting records in 1Q26: equity ADV was 16.9B shares (-16.2% Q/Q, -3.6% Y/Y), ETF ADV decreased to 3.9B shares (-16.0% Q/Q, +15.9% Y/Y), and options ADV totaled 70.0M contracts (-4.0% Q/Q, +15.1% Y/Y).
• Total equity capital formation was $96.1B (-51.7% Q/Q, +47.5% Y/Y) and total IPOs were $6.6B (-94.6% Q/Q, -60.3% Y/Y). The decreases were caused largely by inflated 2Q26 totals by the SpaceX IPO ($86.2B). The market cap of all US listed companies totaled $78.7T in 3Q26 (+2.4% Q/Q, +16.2% Y/Y) and the number of listed companies stood at 5,541 (+0.2% Q/Q, +0.9% Y/Y).

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About the Report

The SIFMA Research Quarterlies contain data and statistics on U.S. markets. The equity and related report – cash equites, ETFs, options and capital formation – includes information on: volumes, volatility, total equity issuance, IPOs, market shares, exchange landscapes, etc.

All reports and corresponding databases can be found at www.sifma.org/research.