EB Daily Market Report - Friday, September 18, 2026

Dear Members.

Everything is stacked against the market. Higher interest rates. Higher oil prices. Continued inflation. Continuing international conflicts. Increased skepticism of AI's virtues. Worst month historically for the market. A pretty impressive list of negatives. Yet, the bulls haven't been willing to throw in the towel as we prepare to close out another trading week.

We saw the $VIX spike when the market sold off hard on the Fed interest rate decision but it has since settled, showing that initial fear was more knee-jerk than anything else. 

One thing I've noticed is that the bulk of the recent selling has mostly been confined to blue-chip stocks with the Dow back below both its 20- and 50-day moving averages while the NASDAQ remains above all key technical levels. In other words, there is renewed interest in tech stocks which I see as a positive.

One has to wonder if higher interest rates and stubbornly higher oil might take their toll on the market at some point. It's very possible but not evident yet.

Right now the S&P is sitting just above its 50 day moving average, currently at 7616. A close below that level could result in a retest of Wednesday's low of 7507. We're still only 2.5% away for the all time high of 7816 but the bulls will have to work super hard to get back to that level in the face of challenging headwinds.

Tom will be back with his Weekly Market Report on Monday.

At your service,

John Hopkins