Over the last few days, we have seen very rapid moves in extended hours (after or before the market opens) following earnings reports on both the bullish and bearish sides, not to mention pre-market shifts driven by developments in the conflict in Iran. Regardless of whether the situation is bullish or bearish, sharp reversals are occurring. Today, this publication focuses on educational content about how to combine support and resistance levels with other technical indicators. The key question when using levels is: How to anticipate whether a level will act as a reversal zone? Last Friday, the support and resistance levels for this week included educational content on setting a hierarchy of monthly, weekly, and daily levels, along with preliminary considerations for combining them. Today,

The $S&P 500(.SPX)$ and $NASDAQ 100(NDX)$ extended their advance on Tuesday, confirming the bullish weekly setup highlighted over the weekend. Both indices opened above their key weekly pivot levels, reinforcing the view that the current move could mark the beginning of another leg higher rather than just a short-term rebound. As the rally developed, price continued to validate key technical levels. For the S&P 500, Monday's move above 7,563 confirmed the initial bullish trigger. On Tuesday, the index held above its daily pivot at 7,571.8 before steadily clearing successive resistance levels at 7,638 and 7,677. By the close, the S&P 500 had reached 7,744, finishing the session at a fresh all-ti

The final week of July 2026 was a dramatic, high-stakes rollercoaster on Wall Street as expected. After navigating sharp sector swings, a highly divided Federal Reserve meeting, and heavy macroeconomic data, a late-week short squeeze in technology enabled the broad market to claw back into positive territory for the week. Many storms were anticipated last week in this publication, with each day bringing its own unique set of volatility drivers: 1. The Federal Reserve: A Hawkish Hold The Federal Reserve took center stage on Wednesday, voting 9–3 to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged in the 3.50% to 3.75% range. However, the decision was far more hawkish than anticipated. Three regional Fed presidents dissented, voting instead for an immediate 25-basis-point interest rate hike due t

Last night in the mid-week update, I mentioned how likely a bounce was for today given oversold conditions in the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ $VanEck Semiconductor ETF(SMH)$. I also noted how oversold $Amazon.com(AMZN)$ was to guard against further declines, clarifying that technicals do not anticipate earnings reactions. In a neutral way, I highlighted that $Apple(AAPL)$ was overbought and outlined the technical reasons why a decline was likely. Both of those expectations played out today 🎯. Following its earnings release, $Meta P

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower, suffering a steep broad-market sell-off catalyzed by a combination of hawkish Federal Reserve division, mounting inflation fears, and geopolitical escalation. The Federal Reserve voted 9–3 to maintain benchmark interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%, marking an ongoing pause . However, the decision rattled investors as three regional Fed presidents dissented in favor of an immediate quarter-point rate hike due to sticky inflation. This divided stance, coupled with Warsh’s commentary highlighting persistent price pressures, triggered a strong sell-off as the price of the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ reversed from 7,452, our key central monthly level that has defined momentum and volatility over recent days. Compounding t

$VanEck Semiconductor ETF(SMH)$ : Be careful being too bearish. My daily market update provides the key levels for tomorrow on $S&P 500(.SPX)$ $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ , and $SMH. Also an update of my high probability setups. My bullish targets for $Apple(AAPL)$ $Netflix(NFLX)$ $Wal-Mart(WMT)$ $Costco(COST)$ have been reached as my bearish ones for $SMH and $Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$ The vanishing rally was expected for $QQQ as posted during the weekend,

Investors continued pulling capital away from AI-driven semiconductor darlings and rotated into consumer, healthcare, and industrial sectors. The semiconductor rout worsened as the Semiconductor ETF $VanEck Semiconductor ETF(SMH)$ tumbled for a fourth straight day, with individual memory leaders $Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$ and $Micron Technology(MU)$ each plunging over 8%. Meanwhile, robust Q2 results fueled a massive surge in the Dow. Paint maker $Sherwin-Williams(SHW)$ jumped over 8%, $Coca-Cola(KO)$ rose 5% after raising its full-year guidance, and

The Q2 2026 earnings season has revealed a divergence between the broader market and the highly scrutinized mega-cap technology space, while Wall Street banks and key defensive sectors like healthcare have delivered strong results. In the tech sector, sharp post-earnings stock declines for mega-caps like $Alphabet(GOOG)$ $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ were generally not caused by poor revenue or core business growth. Instead, a clear pattern of “AI cash burn anxiety” emerged. Both Alphabet and Tesla handily beat top-line expectations, with Google Cloud revenues surging and Tesla delivering solid vehicle metrics. However, Alphabet’s massive infrastructure spending pushed its quarterly free cash flow into a negative

There is a divergence forming in the market that deserves serious attention, and it is not showing up in the headline index number. The $S&P 500(.SPX)$ is holding near its highs, my anticipated annual target of 7,638 set the expected rejection in June with the all time highs at 7,620 (and posted that day that the target could be considered reached), price is compressing with a series of lower highs and higher lows. On the surface, everything looks constructive. But when I look beneath the index, at the groups that built this rally and carried it for two and a half years, the picture is more complex. The Magnificent Seven, $Apple(AAPL)$ $Microsoft(MSFT)$

The U.S. stock indexes began the week with an optimistic morning rally, fueled by hopes for geopolitical de-escalation in the Middle East following reports that Iran might pursue a diplomatic path to ease tensions. This early momentum was further bolstered by renewed investor appetite for AI and semiconductor stocks, as the market began to digest the recent “Kimi shock.” While the initial release of Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 model last week rattled investors with fears of a “cost-efficient” Chinese competitor, the narrative shifted this morning. Reports that Moonshot AI had to pause new consumer subscriptions due to a lack of sufficient compute capacity served as a potent reminder that, regardless of software efficiency, the physical demand for high-end hardware remains a massive, unyielding b

$Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ The narrowing price action in tech set bearish resolution. The 20DMA is set to cross below the 50DMA, a clear trend shift that seemed unimaginable less than a month ago since semiconductors were going to the moon. The damage could be worse but some mag7( $Apple(AAPL)$ $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ $Alphabet(GOOGL)$ $Microsoft(MSFT)$ $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$ $Amazon.com(AMZN)$ $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ ) have mitigated it. News are Catalysts for Tech

This week’s economic indicators paint a picture of steady growth and a resilient labor market, though slight cracks are appearing in consumer activity. Labor market stability remains a highlight, as initial jobless claims fell by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 208,000, outperforming the consensus estimate of 217,000. Meanwhile, consumer spending showed steady headline demand, with June retail sales ticking up 0.2% as vehicle sales and online retail offset a steep drop in fuel prices. Anyway, core retail sales (excluding autos) unexpectedly dipped 0.2%. On the production side, the Philadelphia Fed Business Index surged to a blowout reading of 41.4 in July, crushing forecasts of 12.7 and signaling robust growth in northeastern manufacturing. Why the Market Pullback? Three Macro Factors to Co

$S&P 500(.SPX)$ The tech selloff has pushed the index below its 20 and 50 daily moving averages. Considering the bearish crossover in the oscillator, this suggests further declines ahead. The previous two bounces occurred with a more reset oscillator, which is not the case today. The 20 daily moving average was breached and the oscillator is falling from overbought conditions, with a lot of space before getting oversold. Losing this moving average is usually concerning.

Market volatility remains elevated, with semiconductors continuing to drive the major swings we are witnessing. This highlights the ongoing internal divergence within the technology sector: while semiconductors lead the decline, the Magnificent Seven have acted as a buffer, holding the $NASDAQ 100(NDX)$ and $Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLK)$ from falling with more conviction. The Semiconductor Struggle $Micron Technology(MU)$ continues to slide, down -21% this month and -28% from its June peak (when I highlighted the elevated risk of chasing the after earnings euphoria). As I have noted in recent weeks, this is a classic correction following overextension, sim