Markets ripped again last week as core PPI came in softer than expected, war fears continued to ease, and FOMO set in. Software led the charge with $IGV surging over 13%, while oil and energy names tanked, taking inflation fears down with them. In trading-related news, the PDT rule was eliminated, removing the $25,000 minimum required to day trade, and $HOOD (Robinhood) surged over 30% as retail sentiment lit up. In other news:
Looking ahead, earnings season heats up with $TSLA, $NOW, and $INTC all on deck. Traders will also be watching Friday’s consumer sentiment reading, with the April final print forecasted at 49.0, up from the prior 47.6. With markets back at all-time highs, let’s see how the charts are setting up.
Weekly Analysis
SPY (SPDR S&P 500)
$SPY ripped to a new all-time high last week, closing at $710.04 (+4.50%) in a near-perfect V-shaped recovery from the April war-fear lows. The move was so sharp that the Combined RSI Ensemble went straight from oversold to overbought, printing its first orange daily candle in roughly a year. Can bulls hold all-time highs with momentum already stretched, or does this need to digest before the next leg?
QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust)
$QQQ closed the week at $648.85 (+6.17%) as software led the charge, with $IGV ripping alongside the broader tech surge. The Combined RSI Ensemble is now three consecutive orange candles deep, with RSI pushing into extreme territory. The last sequence produced a ~2% pullback. If the pattern holds, a similar digest could be the next setup to watch.
IWM (iShares Russell 2000)
$IWM hit a new all-time high Friday, closing the week at $275.78 (+5.54%) as small-caps joined the broader surge. The Combined RSI Ensemble printed an orange candle as the daily RSI cleared 70 for the first time in months. The last orange candle marked the resistance level price just broke through, making this one a potential signal of momentum instead of exhaustion.
Earnings
Notable Results
NFLX (Netflix, Inc.)
- EPS: $1.23 vs $0.76 est
- REV: $12.250B vs $12.172B est
PLD (Prologis, Inc.)
- EPS: $1.50 vs $1.03 est
- REV: $2.137B vs $2.111B est
BK (The Bank of New York Mellon Corp)
- EPS: $2.25 vs $1.93 est
- REV: $5.409B vs $5.176B est
C (Citigroup Inc.)
- EPS: $3.06 vs $2.63 est
- REV: $24.633B vs $23.640B est
MS (Morgan Stanley)
- EPS: $3.43 vs $3.04 est
- REV: $20.580B vs $19.793B est
BAC (Bank of America Corp)
- EPS: $1.11 vs $1.01 est
- REV: $30.272B vs $29.823B est
ASML (ASML Holding NV)
- EPS: $8.37 vs $7.72 est
- REV: $10.260B vs $10.210B est
JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
- EPS: $5.94 vs $5.49 est
- REV: $50.536B vs $48.768B est
BLK (BlackRock, Inc.)
- EPS: $12.53 vs $11.67 est
- REV: $6.698B vs $6.505B est
GS (Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.)
- EPS: $17.55 vs $16.37 est
- REV: $17.227B vs $16.952B est
PNC (PNC Financial Services Group)
- EPS: $4.32 vs $4.03 est
- REV: $6.165B vs $6.219B est
TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd.)
- EPS: $3.49 vs $3.31 est
- REV: $35.898B vs $35.500B est
PEP (PepsiCo, Inc.)
- EPS: $1.61 vs $1.55 est
- REV: $19.443B vs $18.933B est
SCHW (Charles Schwab Corp)
- EPS: $1.43 vs $1.38 est
- REV: $6.482B vs $6.480B est
USB (U.S. Bancorp)
- EPS: $1.18 vs $1.14 est
- REV: $7.288B vs $7.293B est
PGR (Progressive Corp)
- EPS: $4.96 vs $4.82 est
- REV: $20.968B vs $22.971B est
JNJ (Johnson & Johnson)
- EPS: $2.70 vs $2.67 est
- REV: $24.062B vs $23.545B est
ABT (Abbott Laboratories)
- EPS: $1.15 vs $1.14 est
- REV: $11.164B vs $11.007B est
WFC (Wells Fargo & Co)
- EPS: $1.56 vs $1.58 est
- REV: $21.446B vs $21.767B est
What’s Happening Now
VST Vistra
Nuclear sector stocks rallied this week after the White House shared a plan to deploy reactors in space by 2028. As political interest grows, we asked Sidekick for a Deep Research overview: AI infra needs massive, always-on power and nuclear is an efficient solution. While highly speculative OKLO has inked a major deal with META for a future build, nuclear utility leader CEG generates real revenue today with multiple Big Tech partners. However, the non pure-play utility giant VST may show the strongest nuclear-linked fundamentals.
IONQ IonQ, Inc.
Nvidia launched its first lineup of open-source models for quantum computing this week, aiming to enable faster GPU processing, while supercharging the broader quantum-linked sector. Leading with a 60%+ rally, IONQ was recently awarded a U.S. DARPA contract to develop networked quantum computers. And in a new report, S&P Global added credibility by declaring: “the quantum computing industry has been catalyzed: M&A activity is surging, investment continues to grow, governments around the world are accelerating their commitment.”
AAPL Apple
The tech giant enters its strongest seasonal window next week, boasting an 84% win rate and average gain of 3.3% based on nearly twenty years of data. Fresh analyst momentum supports the historic pattern as BNP Paribas recently upgraded AAPL to outperform while Bank of America raised its price target to $325. As AAPL has already recovered nearly 10% from its March lows to $270 today, the calming macroeconomic backdrop may support further gains.
Believe it or not, this is just a fraction of what happened in the markets last week. For a full rundown delivered straight to your inbox every weekend, sign up for The Official Trendspider Newsletter!
Market Update Into September 7th: Inflation Data Incoming