The Trading Post | 04.14.26

April 14, 2026

Good morning,

Markets are juggling Iran blockade headline whiplash, big bank earnings, fresh inflation data, AI momentum trades, and crude’s usual talent for overreacting right when traders were hoping for a calm Tuesday. Adorable.

Let’s jump in.

Yesterday’s Post-Market Performance

As of 04.13.26 market close.

Market News

  • Geopolitics is still driving the tape: Iran blockade headlines are jerking index futures around, which means ES, NQ, and RTY traders should expect opening-range chaos, fakeouts, and all the usual headline-induced nonsense. Trade the extremes, not the mushy middle. CNBC

  • Bank earnings take center stage: JPM, Citi, Wells Fargo, Goldman, and BlackRock are all in the spotlight, so expect volatility in XLF, KRE, and the usual suspects. The cleanest setups may come after the first 15–30 minutes, once the market finishes its opening overreaction ritual. CNBC

  • AI and chip names still have momentum: SanDisk’s Nasdaq-100 inclusion story and a bullish CoreWeave call are keeping the AI/chip crowd on the radar. Watch for breakout-pullback setups in leaders rather than chasing green candles like a labradoodle in a tennis-ball factory. Yahoo Finance

  • Macro still matters, unfortunately: NFIB sentiment, ADP, and PPI all hit before the bell, giving traders another inflation-and-rates puzzle to solve before coffee even settles. Yields will likely decide whether growth gets another tailwind or a slap. CNBC

  • Crude remains one headline away from a mood swing: Oil and defense names are trading every Iran update like it was written by a caffeinated drama intern. For CL and energy names, respect prior day highs and lows, reduce size, and don’t marry a move that was born from a headline. CNBC

Earnings We’re Watching

  • Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI) - Tuesday (BMO) 

  • BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) - Tuesday (BMO) 

  • CarMax, Inc. (KMX) - Tuesday (BMO) 

  • Citigroup, Inc. (C) - Tuesday (BMO) 

  • Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Tuesday (BMO) 

  • JPMorgan Chase. (JPM) - Tuesday (BMO) 

  • Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) - Tuesday (BMO) 

Trade Ideas

Apollo Global Management, LLC (APO), Broadcom Inc (AVGO), Bloom Energy Corporation (BE),
BWX Technologies (BWXT)

Cameco Corporation (CCJ), Cadence Design Systems, Inc (CDNS), CME Group Inc (CME),
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc (CRWD)

CoreWeave, Inc. (CRWV), Carvana Co. (CVNA), DoorDash Inc (DASH),
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS)

Expeditors International of Wa (EXPD), Howmet Aerospace Inc (HWM), Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. (J), Cloudflare, Inc. (NET)

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (ODFL), Oracle Corporation (ORCL), Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ)

Southern Peru Copper Corporation (SCCO), Shake Shack, Inc. (SHAK), TE Connectivity, Ltd. (TEL), Texas Instruments Incorporated (TXN)

Want to learn how we trade these? Learn the setup we call the “High Volatility Switchback” trade.

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Daily Moment of Zen

❝

The whole secret to winning in the stock market is to lose the least amount possible when you're not right.

William O'Neil

Why It Matters:

That’s the part nobody wants embroidered on a motivational pillow. Everyone loves talking about winners, moonshots, and “conviction.” Far fewer want to admit that real trading success is usually built on smaller losses, faster exits, and the deeply unsexy skill of not arguing with the market. The pros do not survive because they are always right. They survive because when they are wrong, they do not turn a paper cut into amateur surgery. In trading, greatness is often less about heroic gains and more about refusing to blow yourself up trying to defend a bad idea. Not exactly romantic. Extremely profitable.