Markets are reflecting the turmoil in the Middle East by being as indecisive as the Administration in its goals for the region. Headlines talk of significant declines, but that's not what we are seeing. The Nasdaq has been particularly resilient despite the added pressure from a possible AI bubble. I have marked in declining resistance from January, that intersects with today's close, and marks a possible short trade (stop on a close above today's nasty looking spike high). There is a weak 'buy' signal, but other indicators are bearish, despire the sharp acceleration in relative performance to the Russell 2000 ($IWM).

It was not a guaranteed thing, and if Monday sees gains (unlikely), then a bear trap can't be ruled out. It was not a wholesale disaster, but it will set the tone for the week. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) gapped down but wasn't able to build on the opening loss. The end-of-day finish as a doji leaves it in a bit of a no-mans land, but if there is a gap higher and a closing white candlestick tomorrow, then we have a bullish morning star reversal pattern. Stochastics (momentum) is not entirely oversold, which you would like to see for a reversal pattern. Technicals are now net negative, so it does point towards further losses, but do watch for an opening gap higher that could offer a long trade.

We are seeing a pick up in trading volume with selling dominating, but we are not seeing a new downward trend, at least, not yet. News headlines paint a harsher picture of market action, but it hasn't borne out yet. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) has drfited towards range support on a sequence of lower highs (but not yet lower lows). I expect this squeeze to play out with a solid red candlestick breakdown (and a good short trade) with a target of the 200-day MA. This should turn technicals net negative, and then, we can start to see if a new bear trend forms.

The Iranian war has flagged extreme headlines, but markets haven't broken from their trading ranges bar a few exceptions. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) is the most bullish of the indices. The index successfully defended $255 support but did finish the day below 50-day MA support. Technicals are still mixed, with momentum (Stochastics) likely the next indicator to switch bearish, which would make bears favorite overall. The S&P spiked below 6,790 support before staging a recovery to close above this (real-body) support line. Technicals are net bearish, but the spike low should mark a point of demand. However, if tomorrow, the index closes within the range of the spike low, then all bets are off. Aggressive traders could look to play a long trade off the open, but if gains fail to build earlier then I wouldn't stick around. It was a different story for the equal-weighted S&P. This posted a clear breakdown from the rising trend, but did manage to successfully d...

Aside from a rise in oil prices, which were already trending higher prior to Israel's, and "tag-along" U.S., strike on Iran it remains to be seen what long term impact this will have on markets. I'm always looking at how indices relate relative to their 200-day MAs, and since the latter part of 2025 to now, this relationship is no longer overbought and not the risk I thought coming into 2026. However, we do have well-defined support levels to work with and these should be tested early next week. Again, a loss here wouldn't be hugely damaging as we have 200-day MAs below to offer support. What will be damaging is, as probably expected, the Iran conflict extends into a series of terrorist attacks on U.S. interests to goad the U.S. (and Israel?) into putting boots-on-the-ground in Iran. The Middle East is never a clear in-and-out, and there is no record of success for the U.S. to lean on here. In such a scenario, we have the makings of drip-drip losses in the market ...

I haven't commented much on the Semiconductor Index, but yesterday brought with it a small candlestick and a gap higher that tagged the measured move target. While today saw a 3%+ loss and a potential bearish evening star. The loss came with a MACD trigger and CCI 'sell'; the MACD 'sell' faking off yesterday's 'buy' signal. Aggressive shorts could look for a test of the 50-day MA (a cover price), but in broader terms the trading range is the dominant pattern.