Tech Drags as Rotation Into Small Caps Holds; SPY Sandwiched Between GEX Walls

The S&P 500 is down nearly 1% on the session while the Nasdaq-100 has shed 2.5%, dragged lower by a 3.1% drop in NVDA and a 5.3% collapse in TSLA — both flagged in pre-market headlines citing AI spending concerns. Meanwhile, small caps are bucking the narrative: IWM is off just 0.28%, trading near session highs at 297.36 with its call wall at 300 within striking distance.

The options market opened with a cluster of aggressive 0DTE SPX call sweeps near 7380-7400 totaling roughly $187M in premium — bullish bets placed at the open that have only partially paid off as SPY sits at 737.29 mid-session, still below its 742 max pain level. The divergence between mega-cap tech weakness and small-cap resilience is the defining cross-market tension of this afternoon.