Preview of the Week Ahead: W/C August 17, 2026
Indices Defend Key Levels as Tech and Software Broaden the Rebound
Hope you all are having a good weekend. Below, we will be previewing the upcoming week’s events and providing a portfolio update as usual.
Format for what is covered in this weekly preview:
A Look at the Indices
Key Upcoming Economic Events
Upcoming Earnings
Charts
Current Portfolio Holdings:
Sizing | Cost Basis | Timeframe | Planned Moves
Closing Thoughts (Scroll to here for my Market Commentary)
I recommend checking out the most recent Monthly Portfolio and Performance Update below:
Indices
Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.39% in the last week
S&P 500 advanced 0.48% in the last week
Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.43% in the last week
IWM advanced 1.31% in the last week
Key upcoming economic events
Monday, August 17
NY Empire State Manufacturing Index (August)
NAHB Housing Market Index (August)
TIC Net Long-Term Transactions
Tuesday, August 18
Building Permits (July)
Wednesday, August 19
FOMC Meeting Minutes
Thursday, August 20
Initial Jobless Claims
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (August)
CB Leading Economic Index (July)
Friday, August 21
S&P Global Flash Manufacturing PMI (August)
S&P Global Flash Services PMI (August)
Upcoming Earnings
Below is the infographic by Earnings Whispers highlighting the schedule for this week:
Charts
SPX
Currently trades at 7,785.76, 3.64% above the 50SMA and 10.05% above the 200SMA.
RSI 65.90
13.52% YTD
Distribution days in the last week: 0
The S&P 500 closed above all key moving averages and achieved an all time high weekly close.
COMPQ
Currently trades at 26,729.16, 3.18% above the 50SMA and 10.55% above the 200SMA.
RSI 60.29
15.04% YTD
Distribution days in the last week: 0
The Nasdaq Composite closed up for the week and the next level above to watch will be the ATH at 27,190.
BTC (currently Long)
Currently trades at $63,090.62, 0.67% below the 50SMA and 9.06% below the 200SMA.
RSI 43.69
-28.91% YTD.
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee advanced the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to the full Senate in a bipartisan 15–9 vote a few weeks ago. Whilst there had been some regulatory, a procedural vote is now scheduled for mid-September. This delay has likely reduced the bill’s chances of becoming law in 2026.
As of Saturday, August 15th at 23:36 BST, BTC is trading at 63,090. From a technical perspective, it is below all the near term moving averages. Bulls will want to see a reclaim of those and then 200 SMA in the coming weeks, given that it has served as a strong resistance level.
EEM
Currently trades at $66.61, 0.94% above the 50SMA and 10.14% above the 200SMA.
RSI 56.20
+18.44% YTD
EEM remains in an uptrend and whilst it continues to outperform the SPX YTD the gap has narrowed to around 480bps.
For the first time in four weeks EEM closed above the 50-day moving average. This is likely in part due to the bounce in TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix, which make up around 30% of the ETF.
GOLD (Long Physical)
Currently trades at $4,375.15, 5.28% above the 50SMA and 2.54% below the 200SMA.
RSI 63.13
+1.22% YTD
In early June, Gold lost its 200-day moving average for the first time since its bull run began in late 2023 which is notable and it has not been able to come close to reclaiming it.
Last week, gold broke out of a falling wedge pattern and has started to consistently trade above its 21-day moving average, which had previously acted as resistance. Bulls will want to see the 200-day moving average reclaimed next (see arrow).
SOXX
Currently trades at $550.42, 2.07% below the 50SMA and 32.67% above the 200SMA.
RSI 53.06
75.47% YTD
On July 6th, SOXX printed a bearish 5/21 EMA cross, signalling a near-term shift in momentum, and trended lower thereafter. However, this week on Tuesday the 11th, SOXX printed a bullish 5/21 EMA cross (see arrow) and has been trending upward.
Bulls will want to see the overhead 50-day SMA (~562) reclaimed this week.
MU
Currently trades at $971.66, 1.15% above the 50SMA and 75.89% above the 200SMA.
RSI 56.30
240.44% YTD
Last week I had written:
Whilst MU traded up this week, it once again found resistance at the 21-day moving average and closed below the 50-day for the fourth consecutive week. Bulls will want to see a reclaim of the 21-day moving average and a decisive weekly close back above the 50-day, sooner rather than later.
This week MU did close the week above the 50-day moving average for the first time since early July.
AMZN (Currently Long)
Currently trades at $262.65, 5.83% above the 50SMA and 10.50% above the 200SMA.
RSI 53.49
15.96% YTD
Amazon stock has been mostly range-bound over the past year. However, following a strong earnings print on July 30, the stock rallied and set a new high in early August. Since then, news of Bezos’s large share sale has curtailed the momentum. The 21-day EMA is near, and bulls will want to see it hold as support before the stock rallies back toward its highs. If it fails to hold, a gap fill to pre-earnings levels is not out of the question.
XBI
Currently trades at $157.41, 5.00% above the 50SMA and 19.97% above the 200SMA.
RSI 58.17
29.53% YTD
The XBI (S&P Biotech ETF) had been particularly overbought in late June and early July, but it gave a good opportunity on the 50-day SMA retest recently.
S&P 500 Percentage of Stocks Above the 50 Day Moving Average: Currently 70.4%
Breadth increased slightly this week, with the percentage of stocks above the 50-day moving average now at 70.4%.
Notable portfolio changes in previous week (all updated live in subscriber channels):
