THE EAGLE EYE | Wednesday, April 16, 2026
WHAT THE MARKET DID THIS WEEK The S&P 500 hit a new all-time high yesterday at 7,022. Today it gapped down to 6,937 at the open, recovered to 7,040 intraday, and is currently sitting at 7,013. Look at the chart. That is not weakness. That is the market digesting a 3% weekly move. The Nasdaq is at 23,960. Down slightly from yesterday but look at the bigger picture. It recovered sharply from the March pullback and is pressing right into the resistance zone near 24,000. The 10 day moving average at 19,482, 50 day at 17,860, and 200 day at 18,547 are all well below us. The structure is intact. We are trading above every major moving average. The key SPX levels are clear. Resistance at 7,100. The 50 day moving average at 6,791. The 200 day moving average at 6,679. As long as we hold above those moving averages, the trend is our friend. Two things drove this week's strength. Earnings season opened and the banks came out swinging. JPMorgan posted $16.5 billion in profit, up 13% year over year. Citigroup grew net income 42%. When the big banks print numbers like that, capital moves into risk assets. That benefits everything on our Watchlist. Second, the Iran situation is cooling. Markets fully recovered from the March war scare. Traders are now pricing in a potential peace deal. The environment is favorable. That does not mean it is forgiving. THE ACTIVE PLAY MNST (Monster Beverage) $80 Call | Entered at $2.20 | Expiration June 18 MNST closed yesterday around $74.66. We are below our strike. Two months until expiration. The Runway Rule gives us until mid May before we need to make a decision. No panic. The thesis has not changed. Monster has consistent earnings growth and brand dominance in its category. We have time. That is the whole point of how we trade. But we are watching this one closely. If MNST does not show momentum toward $78 to $80 in the next two to three weeks, we reassess. WATCHLIST SCAN The semiconductor and AI infrastructure names are leading this week.