EB Daily Market Report - Brief Update - Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Our major indices are mostly around the flat line today, with a bit of relative strength in the Dow Jones, while small caps show relative weakness. As I pointed out in this morning's Live Trading Room, technology (XLK, +0.12%) started the day as the clear laggard among sectors. The group has since improved, however, buoyed by further strength in semiconductors (SOXX):

The SOXX is currently mired in a bullish wedge, a continuation pattern that suggests we'll likely have another advance ahead. Also, the Fibonacci retracement levels at 38.2% and 50% have now been tested as part of this bullish wedge. It doesn't mean that we'll see another huge advance like before, as an extended period of consolidation is much more likely. Still, even a short-term period of strength would be good for those holding this volatile group.

Despite the lack of economic news out this week, there are plenty of sellers of treasuries as the 10-year treasury yield ($TNX) is now approaching a key resistance level at 4.69%. A break above would likely lead to another key test at 4.80%, prior to the HUGE resistance at 5.00%. Here's what the TNX currently looks like:

Continuing tensions, even rising tensions, in the Middle East have crude oil prices ($WTIC, +3.02%) jumping back to $87 per barrel. That's not only been a tailwind for energy stocks (XLE, +1.22%), but it's also helping to fuel gold ($GOLD, +1.71%), which has risen close to a 1-month high:

I see a short-term range on gold from 3900-4200, based on the above chart. 4200 marks a recent price high AND the downtrend line off the early-2026 high.

After the closing bell today, we'll get the latest quarterly results from Alphabet (GOOGL, -0.03%) and Tesla (TSLA, -0.81%). That'll likely provide some direction for trading into the end of the week. After looking at relative strength, I believe GOOGL has a much better chance of delivering excellent quarterly results. TSLA has been trending lower relative to its peers and currently resides at a 52-week relative low, not exactly the formula for explosive earnings results. But we'll all find out after the bell today.

Happy trading!

Tom