Weekly Trading Recap: September 14–18, 2026
This was a week that had everything — a gap-and-go Monday, two days of selling pressure into a Fed rate decision, a sharp single-day flush to the week's low, and then a quiet recovery into the close. If you traded it systematically and stayed disciplined, there was money to be made. Here's exactly how it played out.
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Market Overview
The MES opened the week at 7690.25 and closed Friday at 7725.5, a net gain of +35.2 points (+0.5%) — but the weekly range of 144.5 points (low 7575.25, high 7739.0) tells a much more honest story about what actually happened between Monday morning and Friday's close.
Monday was the cleanest day of the week. Price opened at 7674.0, pushed straight to a high of 7719.75, and closed at 7694.5 — up 20.5 points on the session. It was the strongest trending day of the week, with buyers in control from the open. That Monday high of 7719.75 would go on to become the week's high, which says a lot about what followed.
Tuesday started to crack. Price opened at 7689.0, hit that open immediately as its high, and then ground lower all session, closing at 7652.5 — down 36.5 points. The session started with the Fed's two-day FOMC meeting underway, and the market made clear it wasn't comfortable holding highs into an uncertain decision. Treasury yields were rising alongside that unease.
Wednesday was the ugliest session of the week — and the most important. The Fed delivered its first interest rate hike in three years, and the market responded decisively. Price opened at 7680.5, then absolutely cratered during the afternoon, touching the week's low of 7575.25 before recovering partially to close at 7622.25 — a loss of 58.2 points, easily the biggest down day of the week. Fed Chair Warsh made clear that additional hikes were on the table, and that spooked equities. The VIX, which opened the week at 17.5, likely spiked through that session before its eventual close at 14.81 on Friday.
Thursday was the whipsaw. After the Wednesday flush to 7575.25, buyers came back hard. Price gapped up to open at 7716.0 — a 94-point overnight reversal from the day's low — and held its ground, closing at 7710.75. The rate hike, along with falling oil prices and Treasury yields, pushed markets higher on Thursday — the classic "sell the rumor, buy the news" dynamic fully in play.
Friday was quiet — a tight session between 7675.0 and 7718.25, closing at 7713.75, up 12 points. More consolidation than conviction, with the 10-year yield closing the week at 5.0%. The broader S&P 500 cash index finished at 7650.5, up +0.51% on the week.
The big picture: mid-week flush to 7575, aggressive overnight reversal, grind back toward the highs. Classic FOMC-week structure.
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DT Algorithm: 8W / 2L, +27.0 pts ($+135)
The DT algo had a solid week — 8 wins, 2 losses, finishing at +27.0 points ($+135). Lifetime record now sits at 228W / 120L (66% win rate). Here's the breakdown.
Monday (3 trades, all winners): The algo ran well in the morning trend. Long at 7686.5, exited 7691.95 for +5.5 points ($+27). Second long at 7684.5, exiting at 7696.1 for +11.6 points ($+58). Third entry at 7705.75, capturing +7.5 points ($+38) to 7713.3. Three longs, three wins on the cleanest day of the week — the algo doing exactly what it's supposed to do.
Tuesday (1 trade, loss): Long entry at 7660.75 into a session that just kept draining lower. Exited at end of day at 7651.5 — a loss of -9.2 points ($-46). The setup was valid; the market sold off into the close ahead of the Fed decision. That's the environment, not a flaw in the logic.
Wednesday (2 trades, split): Entered long at 7684.75 early and got out at 7690.2 for +5.5 points ($+27) before the afternoon fell apart. Second long at 7693.25 got hit by the Fed-driven flush and stopped out at 7677.0 — a loss of -16.2 points ($-81). That was the biggest single losing trade of the week, and it came on one of the most disruptive intraday events of the year. A 25-basis-point hike with hawkish dot plots isn't something a short-term algo can anticipate — it can only manage the loss cleanly, which it did.
Thursday (2 trades, both winners): With the market ripping back Thursday morning, the algo got long at 7703.25, trailing to an exit at 7708.7 for +5.5 points ($+27). Second trade entered 7708.25, held into end of day, exited 7710.0 for +1.8 points ($+9). Small but profitable in a choppy post-reversal session.
Friday (2 trades, both winners): Best trade of Friday came first — long at 7693.25, trailing exit at 7705.0 for +11.8 points ($+59). Final trade of the week: long at 7711.75, exited end of day at 7715.25 for +3.5 points ($+18). Clean close to a clean week.
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TF Algorithm: 1W / 0L, +3.8 pts
The TF algo had one trade this week — a winner — finishing +3.8 points. The FOMC-driven volatility mid-week made for a difficult environment for a longer-timeframe system to find clean setups, and the algo reflected that by staying largely on the sidelines. One trade, positive result. Sometimes that's exactly the right outcome.
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Next Week
We're closing out the week near 7713.75 on MES — well off the Wednesday low of 7575.25, but still a few points below the week's high of 7739.0. The market recovered most of the post-Fed damage, which is constructive, but we're not back at the highs with conviction yet. The 7575–7580 zone is now a clearly defined support level to watch if we see another leg lower.
With the Fed now in a hiking cycle and Warsh signaling more tightening ahead, every data print carries more weight. Watch for Fed speakers next week — any commentary that tempers or amplifies Wednesday's hawkish tone could move the market fast. Quarter-end is also approaching, which historically brings window-dressing flows and positioning noise that can chop up intraday signals.
For the DT algo, a grind toward 7739.0 sets up potential long-side opportunities near the week's high. A rejection there opens up the short side of the range. For TF, a cleaner directional move — either a breakout above 7739 or a retest of 7575 — would create better conditions than the mid-week chop.
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Try Quanntick on Paper First
If you're watching these recaps and wondering what it looks like to actually trade these algorithms, paper trading is the right first step. No capital at risk, real market conditions, real fills — just without real money on the line until you're comfortable with what you're seeing. Reach out if you want to get started.
— Will Ostuni, Quanntick
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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.*