EB Daily Market Report - Brief Update - Wednesday, July 15, 2026

I'm traveling today, so just stopping in at a local Starbucks to give everyone a quick market update.

As we discussed last night at our July Max Pain webinar, semiconductors seemed to be the most at risk heading into Friday's monthly options expiration and, right on cue, the group is tumbling today. The good news is that key short-term price support has been reached on the SOXX and we're not too far from that key 20-week EMA. Here are two charts that quickly point these support levels out:

Support on SOXX Daily Chart:

We need to see this level hold into the close in order for the bulls to remain in charge here. There is further support, however, if the SOXX reaches the 20-week EMA, currently near 500.

20-Week EMA Support:

This potential 20-week EMA test would be another 10% lower, seemingly another huge drop, but this is where perspective becomes critical. The SOXX more than doubled in roughly 10-11 weeks off of its late-March low just above 300. I think just about anyone would have been ecstatic if they knew in late March that the SOXX would be up more than 50% in less than 3 months. That's what the SOXX would be up if the pullback to 500 continues. I know that doesn't help much if you bought the SOXX at 650, but when stocks go up as fast as the SOXX went up, you have to realize there is much, much more risk.

If we turn our attention away from semiconductors and other recently-strong areas within technology (XLK, -2.09%), it's been a fairly boring day thus far. Six sectors are higher, led by communication services (XLC, +1.67%) and consumer discretionary (XLY, +1.28%). Meanwhile, four other sectors are lower, including energy (XLE, -1.56%). Crude oil ($WTIC, -0.02%) is flat on the session.

In economic news, we saw a 2nd non-inflationary report in two days. The June CPI yesterday came in well below expectations. Today, it was the June PPI. Both the headline number (-0.3% vs. +0.0%) and the core number (+0.1% vs. +0.3%) showed that inflation at the producer level had backed off considerably from prior months.

The S&P 500, remarkably, remains less than 1% from an all-time high, despite all the recent weakness in semiconductors. One positive on the benchmark is Apple, Inc. (AAPL, +3.80%) breaking out to an all-time high. AAPL remains one of the most valuable companies in the world, so strength there will almost always be felt in our key indices.

Happy trading!