Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

  • Large-Cap Growth -.8%
Sector Underperformers:
  • 1) Gold & Silver -5.4% 2) Restaurants -2.3% 3) Telecom -2.0%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume: 
  • CHYM, ACAD, TGTX, LGIH, IPI, SIG, SKE, BIPC, BTI, UL, ATR, KSS, VOR, AU, CAG, CGON, OTIS, ARIS, BZ, ADMA, CTGO, ELE, KMTS, BW, TTD, SMTC, AFRM, MMUX, PAAS, AERO, QFIN, CTNM, CGAU, KLAR, GFI, DQ, RKLB, ARVN, QDEL, TME, SA, TMDX and SAIL
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
  • 1) CSX 2) ORBS 3) CTMX 4) AMPX 5) BILI
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
  • 1) CING 2) WB 3) LFWD 4) GEMI 5) CLPT
Sector ETFs With Most Negative Money Flow:
  • 1) SOXX 2) GDX 3) SIL 4) ITB 5) REMX

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

  • Mid-Cap Growth -.1%
Sector Outperformers:
  • 1) Shipping +2.0% 2) Networking +2.0% 3) AI/Innovation +1.2%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
  • SWMR, ANDG, RGC, KC, AXTI, AGRO, NN, FSLY, SEI, LITE, VIAV, AAOI, ADTN, CVI, DOCN, VG, ZTO, NVT, NET, COHR, RCAT, AVO, WSM, LULU, BTSG, TSEM, M, GPGI, NBIS, TNK, EDU, LOCO, TRMD, AMBA, GEO, GNK, WBI, ELPC, MEOH, MUR, ASO, DHT, FLNG, SUN, INSW, GLNG, DSP and STNG
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
  • 1) REI 2) DUST 3) SIG 4) JBL 5) IVZ 
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
  • 1) SWMR 2) ANDG 3) WSM 4) SNDK 5) M
Sector ETFs With Most Positive Money Flow:
  • 1) XLF 2) XLP 3) XBI 4) XLE 5) SMH
Charts:

Tomorrow's Earnings/Economic Releases of Note; Market Movers

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

Before the Open:
  • (ACN)/2.85
  • (BABA)/11.24
  • (CSIQ)/-.47
  • (DRI)/2.94
  • (SIG)/6.11 
After the Close: 
  • (FDX)/4.15
  • (PL)/-.05 
Economic Release 

8:30 am EST

  • Initial Jobless Claims for last week is estimated to rise to 215K versus 213K the prior week.
  • Continuing Claims is estimated to rise to 1851K versus 1850K prior.
  • Philly Fed Business Outlook for March is estimated to fall to 8.5 versus 16.3 in Feb. 

10:00 am EST

  • The Leading Index for Feb. is estimated to fall -.1% versus a -.2% decline in Jan.
  • Wholesale Trade Sales for Jan. is estimated to rise +.6% versus a +1.0% gain in Dec. 

12:00 pm EST

  • Household Change in Net Worth for 4Q. 

Upcoming Splits

  • None of note
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The ECB meeting, Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q1 update, 10Y TIPS auction, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report, Sidoti Small-Cap Conference, (KEYS) annual meeting, (BOX) analyst day and the B.Riley Investor Conference could also impact global trading tomorrow.
US Equity Market Hours
  • 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST

Mid-Day Market Internals

NYSE Composite Index:

  • Volume Running -13.8% Below 100-Day Average 
  • Nasdaq/NYSE Volume Ratio 15.8 +1.8
  • 10 Sectors Declining, 1 Sector Rising
  • 31.5% of Issues Advancing, 66.0% Declining 
  • TRIN/Arms .72 -27.3%
  • Non-Block Money Flow -$264.3M
  • 51 New 52-Week Highs, 81 New Lows
  • 49.1% (-3.3%) of Issues Above 200-day Moving Average
  • Average 14-Day RSI 40.6 +4.0
Polymarket: 
  • How long will the DHS shutdown last? 60+ days 45.0% -.0 percentage points
  • Will China invade Taiwan by end of 2026? 11.0% unch.
  • Trump announces end of military operations against Iran by April 30th 54.0% -2.0 percentage points
Other:
  • Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk-Off Index 102.7 +1.2%
  • Global Monitor Iran Instability Index 100.0 unch.
  • Strait of Hormuz Oil Tanker Traffic Curtailed Estimate 95.0% unch.
  • US High-Yield Tech Sector OAS Index 532.25 +1.0 basis point
  • Bloomberg Cyclicals/Defensives Index 246.6 +.4%
  • Morgan Stanley Growth vs Value Index 142.8 +.3%
  • CNN Fear & Greed Index 20.0 (EXTREME FEAR) -2.0
  • 1-Day Vix 17.4 -1.0%
  • Vix 23.4 +4.7%
  • Total Put/Call .99 -2.0%

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Wednesday Watch

Around X:

  • @Business  
  • @ZeroHedge
  • @CNBC
  • @Daily_MailUS
  • @MarioNawful
  • @NicHulscher
  • @TheSCIF
  • @LaraLogan
  • @C_3C_3
  • John Thune knows there will never be 60 votes to pass the SAVE America Act. Itll be tough to get 51 with VP Vance but he’s going to do a worthless vote with NO talking filibuster. Pure show. The Benedict Arnold of his time. (video)
  • @EmeraldRobinson
  • @ValerieAnne1970
  • @Unite4Freedom
  • @rawsalerts
  • @Libsoftiktok
  • @BrandonStraka
  • @nickshirleyy
  • @OANN
  • @sayerjigmi
Night Trading 
  • Asian equity indices are +.25% to +1.25% on average. 
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 76.5 -2.5 basis points.
  • China Sovereign CDS 46.25 -.75 basis point.
  • China Iron Ore Spot 108.6 USD/Metric Tonne -.2%. 
  • Crude Oil 94.82/bbl. -1.4% 
  • Gold 5,010.8 USD/t oz. +.1%. 
  • Swiss Franc/Offshore Chinese Renminbi Cross 8.76 +.08%.
  • Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 35.58 -.02%.
  • Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 101.1 -.4%
  • US 10-Year Yield 4.20% unch.
  • Japan 30-Year Yield 3.53% -4.0 basis points. 
  • Volatility Index(VIX) futures 22.7 -.3%.
  • Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.16%. 
  • S&P 500 futures +.13%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures +.27%.
Morning Preview Links

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by transport and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.

Stocks Modestly Higher into Final Hour on Lower Long-Term Rates, Short-Covering, Technical Buying, Transport/Energy Sector Strength

Economic/Market Gauges:

  • North American Investment Grade CDS Index 57.4 -3.3%
  • BofA Private Credit Proxy Index 71.9 +2.7% 
  • Bloomberg US Securitized MBS/ABS/CMBS Avg. OAS .25 -2.0 basis points
  • BofA Global Financial Stress Indicator .29 -3.0 basis points
  • European Financial Sector CDS Index 65.2 -3.2%
  • Emerging Market CDS Index 145.8 -3.8%
  • Israel Sovereign CDS 81.3 +1.8% 
  • Bloomberg Global Trade Policy Uncertainty Index .9 unch.
  • US Morning Consult Daily Consume Sentiment Index 92.2 +4.8 
  • Citi US Economic Surprise Index 28.1 -.4
  • Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index -9.2 -15.8
  • Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 53.7 -.6 point
  • S&P 500 Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(498 of 500 reporting) +13.6% unch.
  • S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 326.87 +.60:  Growth Rate +17.7% +.2 percentage point, P/E 20.6 +.1
  • S&P 500 Current Year Estimated Profit Margin 14.81% +2.0 basis points
  • NYSE FANG+ Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(10 of 10 reporting) +28.1% unch.
  • NYSE FANG+ Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 526.72 +.56: Growth Rate +32.4% +.2 percentage point, P/E 28.0 unch.
  • Bloomberg US Financial Conditions Index .27 +14.0 basis points
  • US Yield Curve 52.75 basis points (2s/10s) -1.0 basis point 
  • Bloomberg Industrial Metal Index 169.9 -.8%
  • Dutch TTF Nat Gas(European benchmark) 51.6 euros/megawatt-hour +1.3% 
  • US Recession Within 6 Months Probability(3M/18M Forward Yld Curve Spread) 24.7% +.1 percentage point
  • US Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q1 Forecast +2.7% unch.
  • US 10-Year T-Note Yield 4.20% -2.0 basis points
  • 1-Year TIPS Spread 4.93 +21.0 basis points
  • Highest target rate probability for April 29th FOMC meeting: 97.0% (+1.0 percentage point) chance of 3.5%-3.75%. Highest target rate probability for June 17th meeting: 78.8%(+.8 percentage point) chance of 3.5%-3.75%. (current target rate is 3.5-3.75%)
Overseas Futures:
  • Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating +525 open in Japan 
  • China A50 Futures: Indicating +37 open in China
  • DAX Futures: Indicating -30 open in Germany
Portfolio:
  • Slightly Higher: On gains in my tech/industrial/biotech/consumer discretionary sector longs
  • Disclosed Trades: None
  • Market Exposure: 50% Net Long