The Trading Post | 07.10.26

Good morning,

Chip stocks are dragging the Nasdaq higher, oil’s war-driven surge is losing momentum, the S&P 500 is hovering near its 2026 highs, and market breadth remains about as broad as a one-lane bridge. AI leadership is back—for now—but geopolitical headlines still have the power to turn a calm session into a fire drill.

Let’s jump in.

Pre-Market Performance

As of 07.09.26 market close.

Market News

• AI And Chip Stocks Reclaim Leadership As Traders Rotate Back Into Semiconductors: NVDA, AVGO, AMD, MU, SOXX, and SMH remain the primary momentum vehicles while holding above key moving averages. Use the lows created during the Iran-driven selloff as nearby risk markers rather than giving every trade enough room to become a long-term investment. Finance Yahoo / Reuters

• Iran Ceasefire Unravels As S&P 500 Tests Support And Energy Volatility Returns: Trump’s declaration that the interim Iran deal was “over” revived risk-off pressure and pushed oil-sensitive stocks higher. Watch ES and SPX for failed retests of broken support, while XLE, XOM, and CVX need confirmation from crude before chasing another geopolitical candle. Reuters / CNBC

• Oil’s War Premium Stalls Below The Mid-$70s As The Energy Trade Turns Choppy: Crude’s initial surge has struggled to produce sustained follow-through, shifting CL and large-cap energy names from clean trend trades into range-bound setups. Fade stretched moves near resistance and reserve breakout entries for an actual breakout—an increasingly rare concept, apparently. NDTV / Finance Yahoo

• Indexes Hover Near 2026 Highs, But Narrow Breadth Keeps The Rally Fragile: The S&P 500 remains within striking distance of its June record, though most of the heavy lifting is still being done by semiconductors and AI leaders. Favor relative-strength names, hedge broader index exposure, and use pullbacks toward rising short-term averages in QQQ and NQ for cleaner continuation entries. Reuters / WSJ

Earnings We’re Watching

• Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) - Friday (BMO) 

Trade Ideas

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Daily Moment of Zen

Why It Matters:

Pain by itself does not make you a better trader. Sometimes it just makes you poorer with a dramatic story to tell.

The progress comes from examining the loss without blaming the market, the Fed, the algos, Mercury retrograde, or the suspiciously timed bathroom break that caused you to miss your exit. What did the chart actually show? Did you ignore your stop? Chase an extended move? Size the trade like certainty had finally been invented?

Losses are tuition, but reflection is what turns them into an education. Without it, you are not gaining experience—you are simply paying to repeat the same lesson.

Take the hit, study the decision, adjust the process, and move forward. The objective is not to avoid pain entirely. It is to stop paying for the same pain twice.