Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Good afternoon, traders! Let’s break down exactly what moved the market yesterday and why the technical picture is turning bullish.
Bank Earnings: Absolutely Fantastic
The major banks delivered outstanding Q2 results, and the market loved every bit of it. JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo all beat on both revenue and EPS, with particularly strong trading revenue, investment banking fees, and better-than-expected net interest income. Credit quality remained solid, and provisions stayed under control. The reaction was textbook bullish. The financial sector (XLF) led the broad market higher, and we saw broad participation across the indices. When banks — the ultimate economic bellwethers — crush earnings like this, it removes a major overhang and gives risk assets permission to keep climbing. Yesterday’s price action confirmed the market is pricing in a soft-landing scenario with real conviction.
Fed Comments on Tuesday — Zero Negative Reaction
This was the most telling part of the session. On Tuesday, we heard from several Fed speakers whose comments could easily have been spun as hawkish. In past cycles, that would have triggered at least a quick pullback or a “sell the news” reaction. Not this time. The market completely shrugged it off. No selling pressure, no spike in volatility, and buyers stepped in on any minor weakness. That lack of negative reaction is extremely bullish. It tells us the market has already priced in a higher-for-longer path if needed and is far more focused on corporate earnings and economic resilience than on every word from the Fed. This kind of immunity to potential hawkish rhetoric is exactly what strong bull markets do. Today, the VIX is sitting at 15.67, which is extremely low and a great, positive sign, especially with the NASDAQ in a daily squeeze.
ASML Report & Reaction
ASML reported solid results with continued strong demand for its advanced EUV and High-NA systems, driven by the ongoing AI buildout. While the stock had some volatility around the print (typical for a high-beta name), the overall tone was constructive. The company continues to highlight multi-year visibility in the logic and memory segments. This is important because ASML is a key upstream indicator for the entire semiconductor complex. When ASML stays healthy, it supports the thesis that the AI capex cycle still has legs. The reaction reinforced that the tech supply chain remains fundamentally intact.
Mag 7 Starting to Breakout
Here’s the most exciting technical development of the week: the Mag 7 are finally starting to break out to the upside. Multiple names are either cleanly breaking above their 50-day SMA on the daily chart or sitting right at the line with clear bullish price action and expanding volume. This isn’t just a dead-cat bounce — we’re seeing actual follow-through and leadership returning to the names that drive the broader indices. When the Mag 7 starts reclaiming and holding above the 50 SMA together, it historically marks the beginning of the next leg higher in this bull market. We’re seeing exactly that setup develop right now.
Final Thoughts
The combination of stellar bank earnings, complete immunity to Fed commentary, constructive semiconductor data, and the Mag 7 breaking out above the 50 SMA paints a very bullish intermediate-term picture. The path of least resistance remains higher. Stay patient, stay disciplined, and let the price action guide you.
Happy trading,
P.S. As we dive deeper into earnings season, check out optionsearnings.com. It’s my custom-built, free tool where you can create your own earnings calendar to identify your top optionable stocks reporting earnings. Edit your watchlist, then easily download and share it. You can also dive deep into specific tickers for more earnings insight.
