EB Daily Market Report - Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Executive Summary

• Futures were higher overnight and we saw an initial gap up at the opening bell
• The bulls have remained in control of the action throughout much of the day, which is better than the alternative
• Technology (XLK, +2.00%) and financials (XLF, +1.53%) are the clear leaders on today's session
• Software ($DJUSSW, +3.07%) is having one of its best days in a long while
• Banks ($DJUSBK, +2.15%) are rebounding to help lift financials
• Cryptocurrencies are soaring, with solana ($SOLUSD, +13.52%) leading the way; bitcoin ($BTCUSD, +7.18%) still must negotiate the 75000 level
• Most commodities are higher, though crude oil ($WTIC, -0.05%) is flat
• Many value-oriented and defensive-oriented areas are lagging, led by consumer staples (XLP, -1.05%)
• NVIDIA Corp (NVDA, +2.15%) is set to report its latest quarterly results after the closing bell today

Market Outlook

It's NVDA earnings day. There are few companies with the clout to single-handedly carry the benchmark S&P 500 to a breakout, but NVDA is definitely one of them. Earnings will be out after the bell and I've taken a look at what NVDA might be able to do for technology (XLK) in the Sectors/Industries section below. Here, let's once again review the key levels on the S&P 500:

The red circles highlight a couple of negatives - volume trends and a negative PPO. Meanwhile, the AD line remains in a bullish uptrend and today's action reflects a breakout above the 20-day EMA and 50-day SMA, lessening the odds of a current downtrend and re-emphasizing the sideways consolidation pattern that's been in effect since late-2025.

Sectors/Industries

Last week, I discussed the most immediate hurdle for technology (XLK), which was to break the downtrend resistance line that showed multiple failed tests. Breaking above it wasn't the panacea for the overall market, but it was an important first step to repair the technical damage that's been incurred since Q4 2025. Today, we made that breakout:

The next important question, however, is.......will it last? NVIDIA Corp (NVDA), the biggest company in the world and arguably the most important on the planet, reports its latest quarterly results after the bell today. NVDA is the largest component of the XLK, so Wall Street's reaction to NVDA's quarterly report will go a long way to determining whether the S&P 500 breaks out of or down from its recent 6797-7000 trading range.

ChartLists and Trading Strategies

There are 76 stocks on our Short Squeeze ChartList (SSCL), but I normally wouldn't consider trading more than a few. Most are being shorted for very good reasons. In my experience, I've had better results sticking with heavily-shorted stocks that are moving up on increasing volume and have strong or at least improving AD lines. Of the 76 currently on the list, 5 have my attention:

IOVA:

ACHC:

STOK:

ORIC:

NVTS:

Upcoming Earnings

Our Upcoming Earnings ChartLists and Upcoming Earnings Relative Strength ChartList are included on our website.

Economic Reports

None

Happy trading!
Tom