SPY Rejects August 13 Highs —Is a Pullback Due as $780 Call WallAMEX:SPY recently tested the heavy $780 Call Wall, acting as major overhead resistance and capping immediate upside potential.
Gamma Flip Active: Price action has shifted into the Gamma Flip Zone. In negative or zero-gamma regimes, market makers switch from buying dips to selling into weakness, accelerating volatility.
VIX Bottoming: VIX compressed to the $14 level—a historical extreme that frequently marks exhaustion in equity rallies—and has now printed a bullish confirmation candle off the lows.
ETF market
Opening: XBI October 16th 142/152/180/190 Iron Condor... for a 2.86 credit.
Comments: IV isn't as high as I would like, but this isn't the greatest premium-selling market at the moment with VIX sub-15 ... . Generally looking to keep some theta on and burning, while keeping some powder dry on the side for any higherIV slopportunities that come along.
Metrics:
Max Profit: 2.86 ($286)
Max Loss: 7.14 ($714)
ROC at Max: 40.0%
ROC at 50% Max: 20.0%
ROC at 10% of the width of the widest wing: 14.0%
Will generally look to money, take, run at 10% of the width of the wing (1.00/$100).
Opening: QQQ October 9th 683/693/2 x 770/775 Double Double IC... for a 2.86 credit.
Comments: Selling the 25 delta short option on the put side, 2 x the -13 on the call to accommodate skew in the expiry nearest 45 DTE.
Metrics:
Max Profit: 2.86 ($286)
Max Loss/Buying Power Effect: 7.14 ($714)
ROC at Max: 40.1%
ROC at 50% Max: 20.0%
ROC at 10% of the Width of the Wing: 14.0%
Looking to money, take, run on these at 10% of the width of the widest wing (1.00/$100).
Opening: GLD October 16th 2x 369/374/440/450 Iron Condor... for a 2.74 credit.
Comments: Adding out in the October monthly. Primarily in this for its lack of correlation to the broad market. Going double double on the put side to accommodate skew ... .
Metrics:
Max Profit: 2.74 ($274)
Max Loss: 7.16 ($716)
ROC at Max: 38.3%
ROC at 50% Max: 19.1%
ROC at 10% of the width of the widest wing: 14.0%
Money, taking, running at 10% of the width of the widest wing rather than farting around waiting for 50% max to come in.
SPY will go down from hereDon't get fooled by the market makers here. This bounce is nothing but a relief rally. In other words it holds no real value.
Massive put walls underneath.
Magnets will pull the price down.
9d fear is back down, creates the fuel for the drop.
The sell is not over yet, we haven't seen capitulation yet.
$GLD — Two Signals Disagree at 400, Let the Range DecideSame thing happens. Closed near 400 again — no decision yet while price stays between 400 and 395.
Two signals pointing opposite ways right now, and that's exactly why this isn't a trade to force.
First — No Demand at the level. Price gapped up to 400.28, tagged 401.44, then faded all session to close 398.36, right near the low of the day. Range came in at 43% of a normal day and volume at 62% of average. An up move on light volume, narrow range, closing at its low, directly into resistance — that's not buying. That's the absence of selling.
Second — and this cuts the other way. Yesterday gold sold off hard from 400 with the widest range and heaviest volume of this entire move. Today, on 62% volume, the whole move got taken back.
That matters. When a heavy-volume move gets fully retraced on light volume, the move didn't have the follow-through the volume suggested. Real supply doesn't get undone in one quiet session.
So one bar says sellers are defending 400. The other says they couldn't hold what they took. Both are true — that's what a range looks like from the inside.
The lesson: when two clean signals disagree, the level decides, not the candles. Wait for the edge of the range to break rather than guessing the direction inside it.
Levels
Long over 400. Short below 395. Everything in between is noise.
AMEX:GLD
$SPY — Reclaims 760.57, Seventh Straight Heavy-Volume SessionAMEX:SPY opened with a gap up, then chopped all day. The close came in red on the session, but the important thing is where it closed.
762.60 — back above 760.57. That was the big resistance level after the breakdown, and AMEX:SPY has reclaimed it. Price is also back inside the 5-12 and 34-50 @ripster47 EMA cloud zone it lost last week, trying to curl but closing near the 5-12 EMA.
Yesterday's low at 749.60 is looking like the low of this move. That was a huge volume day with the widest range of the entire leg — price undercut 750 and recovered. Today's gap up off that low confirms the buyers who showed up there were real.
Volume today was 25% above average — the seventh straight session with heavy participation, yet the range was only about half a normal day. A lot of shares changing hands, very little price movement. The market is still fighting for control.
Levels
763.57 is the trigger for a long, with 759 as the risk level below it. Above the trigger, 766-768 is next.
760.57 is the level to hold now, 759.96 below it. Lose those and 750 comes back into play.
What matters on a break above 763.57 is volume. Seven straight sessions of heavy volume producing almost nothing means a move above the prior-day high on light volume isn't worth trusting — it needs real participation behind it to matter.
AMEX:SPY
$QQQ — Both Clouds Reclaimed on Heaviest Volume of the Range, BuGap up, then chop. NASDAQ:QQQ closed 716.92, up 1.73%, with both @ripster47 EMA clouds reclaimed — a 5-12 Curl and a 34-50 Crossed together.
The 700 bounce worked. Price is 17 points off that low in three sessions, and that level has now been defended four times since June.
The bar is more interesting than it looks
Range came in at 4.72 against a 9.49 ATR — 50%, a narrow bar. The entire 12.20-point gain was the gap. It opened 715.95 and closed 716.92 — barely a point of progress once the session started.
Twice in the last three weeks, that exact shape — narrow up bar, no intraday follow-through — has shown up and read as No Demand. Both times volume was below average. Both times the move failed within two sessions.
Today: 35.27M against a 30.56M average, 115% relative volume — the heaviest bar of this entire range.
That changes the reading completely. A narrow up bar on light volume means buyers aren't there. A narrow up bar on heavy volume at resistance means buyers and sellers are both there, and someone is absorbing. 35 million shares changed hands and price held the reclaim.
Two ways this resolves
If that was absorption — supply getting eaten by larger buyers — price grinds higher from here and the range breaks.
If it was distribution — supply winning into strength — this is the high of the move and price comes back into the range.
The close at 76% of the bar leans constructive. The failure to extend past 718.04 keeps the other case alive.
What settles it
The cleanest confirmation isn't another green candle — it's a pullback into 712-713 that holds and closes back up on lower volume than today. That's a test of the reclaim, the same way the 700 level got proven three sessions ago.
A pullback into that zone on heavy volume sends the opposite message.
Levels
713.32 is today's low and the first support. Below 712, both clouds are lost again — a 5-12 Break, and the reclaim fails.
Above, 718.04 is today's high, 721.89 is the swing high, and 724.20 caps the whole range. Price is still inside a two-month range until 724.20 gives.
Watch the retest, not the next green candle.
NASDAQ:QQQ
MAGS: Cup Closing Above 50 SMA at Resistance💡 Swing setup idea
50 SMA Strategy
🔎 Analysis summary:
The Magnificent 7 ETF is showing great strength and reaching resistance. We can also see it above the 50-day moving average and closing a cup pattern. This alignment of trend, pattern and level makes the breakout area key to watch. The upside potential is projected by the depth of the cup from the breakout point.
👀 Levels to watch:
Entry trigger: Break above $71.15
Target: $81.40
Stop: Under the breakout / base of the cup
💬 Will MAGS break through resistance and continue higher? Let me know in the comments! 👇
Good luck!
⚠️ Note: This is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice.
MAGS Daily — Cup and Handle Setup, Watching for the BreakoutRoundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS) — Daily
Setup: A cup and handle looks to be forming here. The cup runs about 17% deep ($10.34) from the ~$71 resistance down to the low, and if price clears that resistance, the measured move projects a similar push higher — roughly the depth of the cup.
The handle is the current uptrend into resistance (white trendline). As long as that line holds, the pattern stays intact.
Trigger: this only becomes a buy the moment price breaks and holds above the ~$71 resistance. Until then I'm not in it — just sitting with an alert set at the level.
For reference, the blue projection on the right is MAGS's own prior cup and handle completing — a similar pattern that played out with a strong continuation higher, which is part of why this setup looks credible.
Invalidation: a break of the white uptrend line before tagging resistance would put the setup at risk.
NFA.
Financial Conduct Authority Targets Illegal Crypto TradingThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched an enforcement action against three premises suspected of illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading in the UK. This operation, conducted in collaboration with the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Metropolitan Police, targets unregistered traders who may facilitate financial crime. Such actions underscore the regulator’s commitment to combating illicit activities within the cryptocurrency sector, as detailed in their official announcement.
The Key Development
The FCA’s recent enforcement action marks a significant step in regulating the cryptocurrency landscape in the UK. The operation aimed at unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders highlights concerns over the facilitation of financial crimes, including money laundering. By targeting these operations, the FCA seeks to enhance compliance and reduce avenues for criminal activities in the burgeoning crypto market.
Quick Take
FCA targets three premises suspected of illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading. The enforcement action is part of a joint operation with HMRC and the Metropolitan Police. Unregistered traders are viewed as risks for facilitating financial crime. The FCA emphasizes the importance of compliance for crypto businesses. This action reflects increasing scrutiny on the crypto sector in the UK.
Market Pulse
The global cryptocurrency landscape continues to grow, attracting new investors and fostering innovation. However, with this growth comes heightened regulatory scrutiny aimed at preventing financial crime. The FCA’s actions are emblematic of broader trends in regulatory oversight, as governments worldwide seek to ensure that crypto markets operate within legal frameworks designed to protect consumers and the financial system.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) oversees financial markets in the UK, ensuring compliance and protecting consumers from financial crime. Its jurisdiction extends to cryptocurrency activities, particularly as these markets grow and evolve. The FCA has increased its focus on unregistered trading operations to mitigate risks associated with illicit financial activities.
Key Levels to Watch
Traders should monitor regulatory developments closely, particularly in light of the FCA’s recent enforcement actions. As scrutiny increases, compliance will become paramount for crypto businesses operating in the UK. The market may see a shift as unregistered operators face greater risks, potentially leading to a more structured and compliant trading environment in the future.
Research 17.09.2026🌏 Markets:
AMEX:SPY +7.11+0.94%(pre/m)
NASDAQ:QQQ +8.73 +1.24%(pre/m)
🆕 Economic News:
08:30 USA – Building Permits / Housing Starts
08:30 USA – Initial Jobless Claims
08:30 USA – Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
10:00 USA – Pending Home Sales
📈 Gap Ups
Reaction to earnings/guidance:
Other news:
NYSE:GNRC Announcing Amazon NASDAQ:AMZN Data Centre Supply Agreement
NASDAQ:NBIS shares are rising after the neocloud company said it was raising prices. The news is also lifting shares in peers NASDAQ:IREN and $CRWV.
NewPhotonics and NASDAQ:TSEM Begin High-Volume Shipments of Laser-Integrated, Serviceable Optical Engine PICs for Scale-Out and Scale Up AI Interconnect
NYSE:NOK and NASDAQ:MSFT Expand Partnership to Develop AI-Powered Telecom Network Automation
White House passed the Ratepayers Protection Act, a measure that aims to put the responsibility on tech and data center companies to pay for power upgrades required to operate new large data centers. Shares of alternative energy companies are rising: NYSE:BE NASDAQ:FCEL NYSE:GEV
BE stock rose because analysts (RBC Capital) confirmed the company’s progress: its fuel cells are gaining validation for powering data centers — this was seen as a “meaningful proof point”.
TD Cowen raised NYSE:FPS price target on Forgent to $76 from $73 and maintained a 'Buy' rating. JPMorgan analyst Chigusa Katoku described Forgent's NYSE:FPS fourth-quarter (Q4) report as strong and said the company's FY27 revenue outlook is 20% above the Street at the midpoint
NASDAQ:USAR , Pasqal and Riven Systems Partner to Advance Next-Generation Technologies for Critical Mineral Production
NASDAQ:AEMD & North Immunology Announce Merger to Advance Novel IL-13 x IL-18 Bispecific Antibody for Atopic Dermatitis
📉 Gap Downs
Reaction to earnings/guidance:
NYSE:LEN
Other news:
NASDAQ:LGVN : ELPIS II Phase 2b clinical trial failed to meet the primary endpoint: the therapy (laromestrocel) did not show a significant improvement in the right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) at 12 months.
NASDAQ:FLNC reduced its full-year 2026 revenue guidance second time to about $2.4 billion, down from its previous guidance midpoint of $3 billion.
$
‼️ Additional
FOMC: FED FUNDS RATE = 4.00% (EXPECTED 3.75% / PRIOR 3.75%).
-- Fed: The decision to raise rates was unanimous.
-- Fed: Inflation remains elevated.
-- FOMC projections indicate one more rate hike is expected this year.
Warsh:
-- We need to be confident that underlying inflation will return to 2% in a timely manner, and the FOMC concluded that this condition has not yet been met.
-- Upside inflation risks remain dominant.
-- Asked about further rate hikes, Warsh said he does not provide forecasts.
Warsh cited three reasons for the rise in bond yields:
1) A strengthening economy.
2) Competition for capital, with the increase in capex being real.
3) Geopolitics.
Traders are now pricing in a 53% probability of a Fed rate hike in October — BBG. Goldman expects the Fed to raise rates in October. Morgan expects the Fed to hike rates at least once more this year.
-- US equities have entered “extreme fear” territory for the first time since June.
Trump threatened to halt trade with the EU if Canada becomes an associate member and instructed that Canadian goods be excluded from US government procurement.
-- Following the Fed rate hike, Trump said the US could sever trade ties with Europe over what he described as a large $200 billion trade deficit.
Trump said the US and Mexico are close to reaching a trade agreement.
Following the failed procedural vote in the Senate on the CLARITY Act and uncertainty over the bill’s future, the heads of the SEC and CFTC said they are prepared to jointly develop their own framework for regulating the US crypto market, which could replace the CLARITY Act if the bill ultimately fails.
Japan and the US are in talks to build a semiconductor plant as part of a $550 billion investment plan — Nikkei.
Yardeni lowered its year-end S&P 500 target to 7,900 from 8,400.
📋 List of tickers involved:
GNRC NASDAQ:AMZN NASDAQ:NBIS NASDAQ:IREN NASDAQ:CRWV NASDAQ:TSEM NYSE:NOK NASDAQ:MSFT NYSE:BE NASDAQ:FCEL NYSE:GEV NYSE:FPS NASDAQ:USAR NASDAQ:AEMD NYSE:LEN NASDAQ:LGVN NASDAQ:FLNC
Best regards – hi2morrow team.
SPY Swept 749.60 And Reclaimed Both Levels It Lost.SPY Swept 749.60 And Reclaimed Both Levels It Lost.
SPY closed Wednesday near 754 after losing 759.13, then traded down to 749.60 and spent the overnight session climbing back through 756.15 and 759.13 to 760.48. That makes yesterday's break an overshoot rather than a trend leg, at least so far. The 4H is carrying its heaviest participation reading in weeks - a swept low with range and volatility both expanded, volume elevation and range compression each at the top of their ranges - which is what a flush and reversal looks like from the inside. The hourly reads short against a bull anchor while the 4H sits neutral, so the surface has not settled. Neutral.
Resistance: 762.57 - the shelf lost last week
Key resistance: 765.52 - the level that has capped this range
Current price: 760.48
Support: 757.39 - first support beneath
Key support: 753.08 - the deeper shelf
Structural floor: 749.60 - Wednesday's low
Two paths from here:
It reclaims 762.57 and the whole break unwinds. Getting above the shelf puts 765.52 back as the decider, and that level has now turned this market back three times. Until 762.57 goes, this is a recovery inside a broken range rather than a repair of it.
It stalls here and returns to the lows. Failing beneath 762.57 puts 757.39 in play, and losing that reopens 753.08 with Wednesday's 749.60 low underneath. A second visit to 749.60 would carry more weight than the first.
The low was swept and bought hard, and the levels above are the same ones that have contained this chart for two weeks. 762.57 to repair it, 757.39 to lose it again.
Built with SYNTHESIS v3.4 | SOM / ACE / IMP / SYNTHESIS
Study, not financial advice.
SPY 15m - Long the retrace into 757.80-758.50 demandSPY swept the liquidity resting below 757 and reversed with an impulsive expansion leg, currently trading near 759.83. The displacement left an untested 15m bullish order block behind at 757.80-758.50, with lower-timeframe imbalances stacked inside 758-759. The higher-probability path is a minor pullback into that demand before continuation toward the 760-761 supply and beyond.
Levels
Entry zone: 757.80 - 758.50 Stop loss: 756.40 (below the sweep low) Target 1: 761.00 Target 2: 763.50
Risk/reward is approximately 1.6R to Target 1 and 3.0R from the mid-zone entry.
Confirmation checklist (no blind limit orders)
Price retraces into 757.80-758.50
1m or 5m bullish change of character inside the zone
Reaction off the order block base (rejection wick or bullish engulfing close)
Entry only after confirmation prints
Confluence
Sell-side liquidity below 757 already taken
Long lower wick and follow-through candles indicate accumulation after the stop run
Fresh, unmitigated 15m order block
Zone overlaps the optimal trade entry area of the recent swing
Unfilled lower-timeframe fair value gaps within 758-759
Invalidation
A 15m candle close below 756.40 voids the idea. No re-entry without a new structure shift.
Event risk
Equity index price action can move sharply around US economic releases and the cash open. Size accordingly.
This is educational market analysis, not financial advice. Manage your own risk.
$SPY & $SPX — Levels for Thursday, September 17, 2026🔮 AMEX:SPY & SPCFD:SPX — Levels for Thursday, September 17, 2026
📊 Key U.S. Economic Data (ET)
8:30 AM | Philly Fed Manufacturing Index | Forecast: 31.3 | Previous: 47.4
8:30 AM | Unemployment Claims | Forecast: 207K | Previous: 206K
⚠️ For informational purposes only. Not financial advice.
📌 #PhillyFed #Manufacturing #UnemploymentClaims
$GLD — Upthrust at 400 Rejects the Level on Heaviest Volume of tA clean rejection at the 400 psychological level and the @ripster47 5-12 cloud.
Here's what made this bar different from everything else this week, and it's worth understanding why.
For the last two sessions, gold drifted lower on falling volume — 7.28M, then 6.65M against a 12M average. A level breaks and nobody follows. That's drift, not a trend.
Today the range came in at 156% of a normal day (12.21 against a 7.82 ATR) and volume at 129% of average (15.56M) — both the widest and heaviest of this entire move. That's effort matching result, the confirmation the earlier break had been missing.
The structure of the bar matters too. Price pushed up through the last two days' highs, tagged 400.60, then failed and closed in the bottom quarter of the range at 391.74. New high, no follow-through, heavy volume, weak close. In VSA that's an Upthrust — a level being defended, not a breakout being built.
It's the mirror image of the bar that held 395 back in August. Same signature, opposite direction.
The lesson: a rejection on heavy volume tells you more than a break on light volume. Patience at the level beat chasing the move.
Levels
400 remains the key pivot. 388.39 is the new reference low. Next targets on continued weakness: 385, 382, 380.
AMEX:GLD
$SPY — Coiled Range Finally Breaks After Fed Warsh SpeechAMEX:SPY faded hard after the Fed Warsh speech. Today's move was significant — price dropped from 761.67 all the way to 749.60, a 12-point range.
This was the session everything had been building toward. For the last six trading days, AMEX:SPY kept putting up above-average volume with tight ranges — heavy participation, almost no price movement. That's a coiled market, and today it uncoiled.
The range came in at nearly triple a normal day, and the volume was the heaviest of this entire leg.
756.70 is the big one. That level held four separate times over the past two weeks — every time sellers pushed into it, they got nothing back. Today it broke, and it broke with the range expansion and volume that had been missing on every previous attempt. That's what makes this break different from the ones that failed.
The bearish structure was already in place before today. AMEX:SPY lost the 5-12 @ripster47 EMA cloud on September 8, then broke the 34-50 cloud on September 15. Today delivered the move those signals were pointing at.
Price found buyers at 750 and closed back at 754.05, about 4.5 points off the low. That's a real recovery, and it happened at an important level — but the close still finished in the lower third of the day's range, so confirmation would come from tomorrow closing green on strong volume before calling that low the bottom.
Levels
749.60 and 750.00 are the floor. Hold them and this becomes a bounce attempt. Lose them and 739.63 is next, then 731.96.
Above, 756.70 and 760.57 are resistance now — they've flipped.
AMEX:SPY
$QQQ — FOMC Bar Confirms Demand at 700, Direction Still UnresolvNASDAQ:QQQ closed 704.72, up 0.03% on FOMC day — flat on the close, but the bar itself was anything but.
Range came in at 11.88 against a 9.19 ATR — 129%, the widest bar of the entire range. Volume hit 35.16M against a 31.22M average, 113% relative volume, the heaviest of the sequence.
Price opened 708.00, pushed to 711.88, sold all the way down to 700.00, and closed 704.72. Eleven points of range to finish two-tenths higher.
Reading it properly
Both sides spent heavily and neither got anything. That's effort without result — and on the widest, heaviest bar of the range, that usually means the range is still in control, not that a move is starting.
The close finished at 40% of the bar, below the middle. A genuine bounce closes near the high. This didn't.
What got confirmed
700.00 held to the tick. The low printed exactly there.
That level has now been defended twice in three sessions, both times on above-average volume. Sunday's shakeout put demand there, and today tested it directly with the heaviest volume of the run. Buyers turned up both times.
That's the strongest thing on this chart right now — demand at 700 is proven.
What didn't get confirmed
Anything above. Price has failed to close back above 709.26 for three straight sessions and hasn't been near the @ripster47 EMA clouds at 712-714 in a week.
Support is solid. Direction is not.
Levels
700.00 is the pivot, and it's the cleanest level on the chart. A break below on expanding volume opens 695, then 690, then 686.78 — note the volume qualifier, since a drift under 700 on light volume is a probe, not a break, and this level has already absorbed two of those.
Above, 711.88 is the day's high, and 712-714 is where both clouds sit. A close through there is a 5-12 Curl and a 34-50 Crossed together — that's the trigger, not 710, not a wick.
No scheduled data tomorrow, which usually gives a cleaner read than FOMC day itself. The reaction to the reaction tends to tell you more than the reaction.
Between 700 and 712, there's nothing to do but wait for one of them to give.
NASDAQ:QQQ






















