Weekly Trading Recap: August 24–28, 2026
Market Overview
The S&P 500 finished the week in positive territory, but the price action underneath that headline number told a more complicated story. MES opened the week at 7682.75 and closed at 7724.75, good for a +42.0 point gain — roughly +0.6% — but the path there was anything but straightforward. The weekly range came in at 127.5 points, spanning from a low of 7655.0 to a high of 7782.5, which is a reasonably healthy range for a week without a major directional trend. Markets were waiting for clarity, and they got it — sort of.
U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish on Monday as the countdown ticked toward potentially market-moving events coming later in the week. MES printed a high of 7686.5 before sellers stepped in, and price closed at 7670.75, down 8.2 points on the session. The week's low of 7655.0 was tagged Monday, which would become a key reference point for the rest of the week.
Tuesday showed a similar pattern — a failed rally attempt with a high of 7701.25 that couldn't hold, price rolling back to close at 7692.25, off 5.8 points. The S&P 500 was relatively unchanged after the latest personal consumption expenditures price index reading set the tone for what traders were watching Wednesday. The core PCE price index, the Fed's preferred inflation metric, rose 0.2% in July month-over-month and 3.3% year-over-year — both readings matched estimates, but the report didn't spark much enthusiasm. Despite that, Wednesday finally saw buyers show up with conviction. MES gained 14.2 points, closing at 7694.5 after holding support above the 7671.0 low.
Thursday was the week's standout session. MES opened at 7716.5, pushed to a high of 7755.75, and closed at 7741.25 — up 24.8 points, the biggest single-day gain of the week. That kind of range and close near the highs signals real buying interest, not just short-covering.
Then came Friday. The S&P 500 fell after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh conveyed some worry over current inflation trends during his Jackson Hole address. Warsh underscored that inflation remains too high and that while this summer's inflation readings were better than expected, they "do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved." MES hit a high of 7782.5 — the week's high — early in the session before Warsh's remarks spooked the tape. Price sold off sharply to a low of 7711.75 before finding footing, closing at 7725.5, down 18.0 points on the day. A classic buy-the-rumor, sell-the-news setup around Jackson Hole.
The VIX closed the week at 14.51, down 8.74% — complacency returning to the tape. 10-year yields ticked down slightly to 4.67%, offering little relief but also little additional pressure.
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DT Algorithm Performance
Week: 5W / 5L | -19.0 pts | $-95 Lifetime Record: 211W / 108L (66% win rate)
Honest assessment: this was a grind of a week for the DT algo. The market's indecision Monday and Tuesday created a difficult environment — the kind where setups trigger and then immediately get challenged by the prevailing choppiness.
Monday opened with a win — a LONG entry at 7676.75 that caught a short-term bounce off the opening range, exiting at 7682.40 for +5.7 points ($+28). But the session's tone quickly turned. A second long at 7681.50 ran straight into the day's continued selling, hitting the stop at 7665.25 for -16.2 points ($-81). A third entry at 7680.75 didn't recover and closed out end-of-day for -8.2 points ($-41). Monday's low at 7655.0 was doing real damage on the tape, and the algo was leaning long into a market that wanted to go lower first.
Tuesday was quiet — one LONG at 7691.50 that scratched out +2.0 points ($+10) at end-of-day. Controlled. Nothing to write home about, but a clean exit.
Wednesday was a split decision. An early LONG at 7696.25 got stopped for -16.2 points ($-81) as the morning digested the PCE print with no real conviction. But the algo re-engaged correctly — a second LONG at 7688.75 caught the afternoon bid, exiting at 7697.50 for +8.8 points ($+44). That's the system doing its job: taking the stop, resetting, re-entering.
Thursday's +24.8-point cash session gave the algo something to work with. The LONG at 7737.25 participated in that thrust, exiting at 7746.80 for +9.6 points ($+48) at T1. The second trade at 7742.75 went nearly flat, closing EOD at 7742.50 for -0.2 points ($-1) — essentially breakeven. Given Thursday's range and momentum, that's a trade the market just didn't give back.
Friday presented the week's starkest contrast. An early LONG at 7754.75 — reasonable given Thursday's close near highs — hit the stop at 7738.50 for -16.2 points ($-81) as Warsh's Jackson Hole remarks hit the wire and futures sold off hard. The algo recovered with a second LONG at 7757.75 that caught the afternoon rebound, reaching T2 and exiting at 7770.05 for +12.3 points ($+62) — the week's best single trade and a clean read on the intraday recovery from the session low.
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TF Algorithm Performance
No trades this week for the TF algo. The week's structure — two choppy down days, a quiet Wednesday, a strong Thursday, then a Friday reversal — didn't produce the kind of sustained directional momentum that the TF system is designed to capture. Sitting out is often the right call, and this week was a good example of why. Forcing trades into a tape that isn't trending is how you compound losses, not edge.
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Looking Ahead: Week of August 31 – September 4, 2026
MES closed at 7724.75, which puts us roughly in the middle of the week's 127.5-point range, and about 58 points below the Friday high of 7782.5. That high now becomes the first meaningful resistance level. A clean reclaim of 7782+ opens the door to new territory; a failure there with the Jackson Hole hawkish tone fresh in the market's memory could bring us back toward the 7655–7670 zone for a retest.
The big known catalyst next week is the August nonfarm payrolls report on Friday, September 4. Traders will be watching the jobs data closely given Warsh's comments about inflation remaining sticky — a hotter-than-expected print would likely reinforce the rate-hike narrative and pressure equities. A soft number could give bulls the excuse they need to push through that 7782.5 resistance. Either way, expect vol to pick up, particularly Thursday afternoon through Friday morning. The DT algo should have cleaner setups in a trending tape; the TF algo will be on watch if we get a clean directional move post-payrolls.
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Paper Trade Quanntick Before You Go Live
If you want to see how the DT and TF algos perform in real time without putting capital at risk, paper trading is the place to start. You get the exact same signals, the same entries and exits, and a realistic picture of how the system handles weeks like this one — the grind, the stops, the recoveries. Head to quanntick.com to get started.
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*Disclosure: results shown are from a simulated (SIM) account. Simulated performance is hypothetical, does not represent actual trading, and has inherent limitations. Past performance is not indicative of future results.*