SPX closed 7,165.08 Friday at fresh ATH / ES at 7,195 in pre-market printing new NATHs / NQ following with NATHs / YM and RTY still lagging
SPX swing chart broke out of the week’s compression range / question is whether this is a solid continuation or another push back inside / RUT remains in its range
GEX suggests 7,200 as the week’s ceiling / 7,150 cluster as the new floor / new range zone possible if both hold
Heaviest tape week of 2026: FOMC Wednesday 2pm with Mag 7 reporting same evening / Apple Thursday plus PCE plus Q1 GDP advance / sleep is optional
TL;DR – The Bottom Line
Wall Street pre-paid for a peace that didn’t arrive Friday. Records held. Iran’s foreign minister spent the weekend in Oman and Russia. Oil moved on what the headlines wouldn’t.
FOMC Wednesday 2 p.m., hold at 3.50 to 3.75% expected despite PCE forecast 3.5% versus 2.8% prior. Powell at 2:30, same evening four mega-caps report.
Q1 GDP advance Thursday morning after Q4 2025 was revised to a sluggish 0.5%. PCE same release window. Apple Thursday close. Exxon and Chevron Friday.
Bitcoin near $78,500 after fourth straight week of $824 million ETF inflows. BlackRock IBIT took $733 million. One fund did roughly 89% of the bid.
Magnificent Seven down 11% year-to-date whilst the S&P prints fresh records. The 493 carries the load. Wednesday’s mega-cap capex commentary tests whether the rotation holds.
Mary’s Best Week Ever. Andy’s Best Day Ever. Danna’s First Month. Chris’s Zero-Trade Discipline Win.
14 traders on the board. 30+ wins logged. 1 brand new face. 4 milestone moments.
Mary’s best week ever (zero losses, +23% capital). Andy’s best single day ever (4 winners 87% to 94%). Danna’s first full month with Alice (25 trades, 100% WR, $11,335). Chris’s discipline win (zero trades, the Lazy Stacker kept him out of a losing week).
Popper, Lazy Popper, ORB, Pulse, Iron Condor and the debut of the Lazy Stacker all delivered across SPX, RUT and XSP.
Whipsaw market. Choppy, flip-floppy intraday. Trade management and self-control did the heavy lifting.
TL;DR – The Bottom Line
Records Friday: S&P 7,165, Nasdaq 24,836, Intel up 23.65% on a blockbuster Q1. Hope priced in. Saturday took it back out before futures could even open.
Trump cancelled the Pakistan trip mid-flight on Truth Social. Iran refused direct US contact. Pezeshkian: no talks until the blockade lifts entirely. Stalemate just hardened.
US Navy redirected its 37th ship Saturday with the Sevan tanker intercepted. Hormuz risk premium back on. Crude at $94.40 will not stay there into Sunday futures open.
FOMC lands Wednesday 2pm with Powell at 2:30. Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon all report after the close same day. Apple Thursday alongside Q1 GDP and core PCE.
Bitcoin held $78K through the diplomatic collapse, up 5.8% weekly. Ethereum lagged at $2,330. Fear and Greed stuck at 39 despite the bid. Disbelief rally signature.
The innocent question with the impossible honest answer
It happens at parties. At dinners. In the back of taxis. The moment I tell someone honestly what I do for a living, the next question is always the same. Three words. A smile. A raised eyebrow. And the honest answer is a lot longer than the time between the starters and the mains…
...Saw a LinkedIn post this week claiming the edge in trading is watching monthly, weekly and daily timeframes “align.” Confluence, apparently, is the foundation of everything.
Bollocks it is. 31 years in, one timeframe, still here.
Let me explain why stacking charts makes you late, not early, and why MTF confluence is mostly just highly productive avoidance dressed as rigour.
...SPX closed 7,108.40 Thursday down 0.41% / Friday futures near 7,113 up 0.07% / Nasdaq futures +0.5% entirely thanks to Intel
Intel reported Q1 EPS of $0.29 against a $0.01 consensus / stock +21% after hours to $81.12 / $3B of Tesla fab business disclosed
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized two commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday / Brent above $105 / WTI above $106 briefly / 12 vessels transited, CENTCOM turned 31 away
30-minute SPX and RUT grinding sideways in tight ranges / GEX levels match the chart boundaries / wait for the breakout rather than chase the grind
Walk into any trading forum and you’ll find thousands of people trying to do the same job. They’re trying to pick the winner. They want to know whether SPX goes up or down tomorrow. They want the right indicator, the right setup, the right guru. They want the satisfaction of calling the move before it happens.
This is why most of them lose money.
...11 traders on the board. 45+ wins logged. 3 brand new faces. 4 milestone moments.
CK’s first real-money PPB win. Mary’s best week on record. James Davis’s 5-in-a-row. Chris Taylor’s recovery sweep.
Popper, Lazy Popper, ORB, BWB and VWAP setups all delivered across SPX, RUT, and XSP.
The system-over-opinion theme owned the week. Zach called it out loud. Phil confirmed it. Everyone else just cashed the wins.
10 trades across 5 sessions / 8 wins / 2 losses / 4 profitable days from 5 / Thursday the only red in the blotter
The week included an active Hormuz blockade, a ceasefire Tuesday binary looming, and a new SPX all-time high at 7,041.28
Monday’s Lazy Popper banked $40 at 100% ROC / Friday finished the week green on $22 and $18 at 2r
Winning ROC band held between 60.0% and 100% across five sessions that had nothing in common with each other