Morning Market Notes 08-24-26

Market Calendar

$SPX & $QQQ

Red to start the week. QQQ down 0.57% premarket and sliding under 710, SPY off small at 764 and already trading just below its 765 Put Wall. VIX up 5% and knocking on 16. Protection is getting bought before the bell.

Blame Washington for the red. Bessent unveils what he's calling the toughest sanctions in history on Iran this afternoon, the same guy who just wrote an economic D-Day op-ed in the FT, so headline risk is live all day. Stack the Canada trade talks falling apart on top, Carney walked and is promising matching tariffs. That's two fresh macro landmines under a tape that rallied into the weekend on rate cut hopes. QQQ is wearing the worst of it, we'll see if the dip buyers show up at the open again.

Nothing on the macro calendar today. The week is loaded though: July PCE and the biggest AI earnings print in the market both land Wednesday, then Jackson Hole kicks off Thursday with Warsh making his Chair debut at the podium Friday. Quiet open, loud finish.

Let's have a sesh.

This old Soldier is at $82K and counting

You read the morning analysis. Blu reads the same notes, then he watches the real-time flow confirm the setups and stacks payouts toward a $100K month. That's the difference between reading about the move and being in it.