Is the Stock Market Rally Spreading Beyond Tech?

The short answer: Yes. More stocks are participating even on days when tech falls. On October 22, 324 of the S&P 500's 500 stocks rose while the index fell 1.4% and tech dropped 3.3%, according to Carson Group. Carson's Ryan Detrick sees broader breadth and calm credit markets as healthy, but he still expects tech to "lead us into next year," and says the bull case depends on it.

Drawing on The Pomp Podcast, hosted by Anthony Pompliano (anthonypompliano.com), with Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group (episode released October 27, 2026).

For years, the complaint about this bull market was that it was too narrow, carried by a handful of giant tech stocks. That is changing. On The Pomp Podcast on October 27, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group, said more stocks are participating even on days when tech falls, and that the strength in other sectors is a sign the bull market is healthier than it looks. He also explained why he still wants tech to lead. Here's the breakdown.

Yes. "Yeah, tech has a bad day and then you have like 300 or 400 stocks up," Detrick said, pointing to last week. On Facts vs Feelings Episode 211, Carson noted that on October 22, 324 of the 500 stocks in the S&P 500 rose and the median stock gained 1.1%, even as the index fell 1.4% and tech dropped 3.3%.

The equal-weight S&P 500, which tracks the average stock rather than the biggest ones, tells the same story. Phil Rosen of Opening Bell Daily, who is also chief market strategist at Silvia, Inc, wrote on October 26 that the equal-weight index is up 13% this year versus 11.4% for the S&P 500.

Defensive ones, along with a rebound in software. "Healthcare is ripping, staples are ripping," Detrick said, describing different areas "taking that baton" while tech took a step back. Carson also noted software gained over 6% last week.

He said he was encouraged that a major foreign stock market crashed recently with little effect on U.S. stocks. In his telling, the S&P 500 has gone mostly sideways for about five months after a roughly 15% rally in April and May, which he called frustrating but healthy consolidation.

It has before. Pomp raised a chart from Phil Rosen showing that during the dot-com bust, the S&P 500 Equal Weight index returned 5.6% including dividends from the end of 1999 to the end of 2001, while the S&P 500 lost 19.9%, according to Opening Bell Daily. Detrick said he lived through that era: he "thought tech was all you could own" in the late 1990s, then watched it crash while other sectors did well. "The rotation was real," he said.

Carson's own research shows a similar pattern: from April to December 2000, the S&P 500 fell 11% while healthcare, utilities and staples surged.

It can be, which is why Detrick still wants tech in front. On Facts vs Feelings, Carson called defensive-led breadth "a yellow flag," noting that tech has ranked among the top three sectors in nearly every bull market over the past century. Detrick told Pomp: "I still think tech is probably going to lead us into next year." He also said that if tech blows up, his bullish thesis probably won't play out.

For now, he doesn't see stress where it would show up first. "I say there's a monster under the bed. The credit markets would sense it. We're not seeing that," he said, noting that high-yield credit spreads are not blowing out, even as credit default swaps on some hyperscalers and AI cloud companies have widened. For more on that risk, see Is the AI Spending Boom a Bubble?

A breadth thrust is when a large share of stocks surge at once, a sign of broad buying. Detrick pointed to the deGraaf Thrust, named after Jeff deGraaf of Renaissance Macro Research. It triggers when more than 55% of S&P 500 stocks hit a 20-day high. In a May 2025 Carson note, Detrick wrote that the S&P 500 was higher a year later 29 out of 30 times after the signal. "The last time we saw this signal was May of 2025," he told Pomp. He said the signal hasn't fired yet this time, but could if tech stocks join the rally.

Detrick thinks so. "The reality is this is a global bull market being led by global earnings, not just US large cap, it's not just seven stocks anymore," he said, pointing to solid earnings in Europe and emerging markets, the latter helped by South Korea's chip and AI memory boom.

More stocks are participating, and the average stock has beaten the index this year. Detrick sees that as healthy, especially paired with calm credit markets. But broad gains led by defensive sectors have also shown up before major tech declines, as in 2000. His base case is that tech recovers and rejoins the rally, and he says that if it doesn't, his bullish view probably won't play out.

Market breadth measures how many stocks are participating in a move. Strong breadth means many stocks are rising, not just a few large ones.

Yes. On October 22, 2026, 324 of 500 S&P 500 stocks rose even as the index fell 1.4%, according to Carson Group, and the equal-weight S&P 500 is beating the cap-weighted index this year.

A signal from Jeff deGraaf of Renaissance Macro Research that triggers when more than 55% of S&P 500 stocks hit a 20-day high. Carson found the S&P 500 was higher a year later 29 of 30 times. It last fired in May 2025.

It can be. Carson calls defensive-led breadth a yellow flag, since tech has been a top-three sector in nearly every bull market. From April to December 2000, the S&P 500 fell 11% while defensive sectors surged.

Yes. He said, "I still think tech is probably going to lead us into next year."

The Pomp Podcast is hosted by Anthony Pompliano and covers the future of business, finance and technology. The show features Pomp's conversations with founders, investors and economists about bitcoin, markets, AI and the economy. Follow The Pomp Podcast on X.

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This article reflects the opinions of the guests and host as shared on The Pomp Podcast. It is guest opinion, not investment advice. Do your own research before making any investment decision.