Weekly Trading Recap: September 21–25, 2026
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Market Overview
The S&P 500 posted a gain on the week, but anyone who just looks at the weekly close is missing most of the story. The MES opened Sunday at 7744.5 and closed Friday at 7806.25 — a +61.8-point move (+0.8%) on paper. In practice, the week was anything but smooth. We saw a 123.25-point range from the week's low at 7725.25 to the high at 7848.5, and price went in every direction to carve it out.
Monday was the standout session — the S&P 500's best day since early August, driven by strength in tech and communication services, with Meta, Intel, and AMD all surging meaningfully. In the MES, that showed up as a gap-up open followed by a relentless grind higher all session. We opened at 7759.75, tagged a high of 7847.25, and closed at 7835.25 — a +75.5-point session, easily the week's biggest up day. Declining oil prices also played a role in the rally, with the drop seen as a positive signal for inflation.
Tuesday was a pause. Price opened at 7838.25, tested the weekly high at 7848.5, and went nowhere. The session closed essentially flat at 7835.25, down just 3 points. Classic consolidation after a big move — the market was digesting Monday's rally while waiting for the next catalyst.
Wednesday turned ugly. Equities fell as Treasury yields marched higher after hot PMI data came in, raising concerns that the Fed may have more rate hikes ahead. The MES opened at 7824.5, tried to hold early, then rolled over hard. We traded down to 7759.0 before closing at 7768.5 — a -56-point session and the week's biggest down day. The 10-year yield was pressing toward 5.10% at that point, and that's the kind of macro headwind that kills any bid.
Thursday saw bond volatility continue, with the 30-year yield hitting its highest level since 2004 and traders remaining reluctant to take on risk. The MES opened at 7738.0 — gapping below Wednesday's low — and traded down to the week's low at 7725.25 before finding buyers. Price recovered into the close at 7770.25, up 32.2 points from the open low. A genuine reversal session, but the range was choppy and the internals weren't clean.
Friday's session saw stocks edge higher as falling oil prices — driven by optimism around a potential deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — lifted sentiment. The MES grinded from an open of 7778.0 to close at 7807.25, up 29.2 points, putting the index back near the upper end of the week's range heading into the weekend.
The 10-year Treasury yield closed the week at 5.18%, up sharply from the 4.95% open. That's the dominant macro theme right now — the bond market is pricing in a higher-for-longer Fed, and anytime yields spike, equities feel it. The VIX barely moved, closing at 14.87 versus a 14.96 open — low by historical standards, which tells you the options market isn't panicking, even with the yield pressure.
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DT Algorithm: 8W / 4L, +17.5 pts
This was a productive week for the DT algo — 8 wins, 4 losses, +17.5 points net — and the week illustrated exactly why context-driven execution matters.
Monday was the cleanest trading day of the week. The algo put up four winning trades and one EOD exit that gave back a little. The first long entry at 7770.0 caught the market early in its morning ascent — price was moving with purpose and the trailing exit locked in +12.1 points ($60). Two more longs in the 7795–7815 range captured continued momentum for +8.0 and +6.2 points respectively. The fourth long at 7825.25 trailed out at 7836.45 for another +11.2 points. The fifth entry at 7846.25 came near the top of the day's range and exited at EOD for a -10.2-point loss — that's the day's high at 7847.25 stalling out and price drifting back. No shame in that one. The setup triggered; the market didn't follow through. Four out of five on the best trending day of the week is a solid result.
Tuesday was tougher. Two trades. The first long at 7845.25 stopped out at -16.5 points ($82) — that entry was near the weekly high at 7848.5, and when Tuesday failed to break through and extend, price came back hard. The second entry at 7836.75 recovered some ground with a trailing exit at +6.2 points ($31). Net negative on the day, but the loss was contained.
Wednesday had no DT trades. Looking at the price action — a -56-point session that opened and sold off — there were no clean long setups. The algo stayed flat, which is the right outcome on a day like that.
Thursday saw three trades. The first long at 7751.75 stopped out at -16.2 points ($81) — this was the early morning probe of the week's low at 7725.25, and price overshot before reversing. The second entry at 7765.5 caught the reversal and exited at T1 for +9.1 points ($45). The third at 7772.0 closed out at EOD for a small -4.5-point loss. A scratchy day overall, but the algo captured part of the Thursday bounce.
Friday closed the week on a positive note. The long at 7799.5 hit T1 at +6.7 points ($33), and 7805.5 trailed out at +5.8 points ($29). Price was in a controlled grind higher both days, and the algo executed accordingly.
Lifetime record now stands at 154W / 83L (65% win rate) since April 21, 2026 on verified fills. That's a meaningful sample size, and the edge is holding.
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TF Algorithm: 2W / 1L, +11.8 pts
The TF algo had a quieter week with three trades, finishing +11.8 points net across 2 wins and 1 loss. I'll have a more detailed TF breakdown in a separate post — the setup criteria and timeframes are different from DT, and the week's choppy middle sessions (Wednesday/Thursday) reflect exactly the kind of environment where TF is more selective.
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Next Week
We're closing the week at 7806.25 in the MES — right in the middle of this week's range, between the low at 7725.25 and the high at 7848.5. Neither bulls nor bears have a clean edge heading into Monday.
The dominant headwind remains yields. The 10-year at 5.18% is a level that historically creates friction for equity multiples. Watch whether yields continue climbing or begin to stabilize — that binary will likely dictate the market's direction more than anything else next week. Month-end and quarter-end flows hit Thursday and Friday (September 30/October 1), which historically introduces rebalancing noise and can produce outsized moves in either direction that don't necessarily reflect the underlying trend.
For the DT algo, the week's close near the midpoint of the range means no structural bias. Both algos will take what the market offers — if we retest 7725 support, that's a potential long setup zone. If we push back toward 7848, that's where resistance proved sticky twice this week. The TF algo will be watching for sustained trend days rather than the choppy back-and-forth we saw midweek.
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Paper Trade Quanntick
If you've been watching these recaps and want to see how the algo performs in real market conditions without putting capital at risk, now is the time to start paper trading. A week like this one — trending Monday, failed breakout Tuesday, sharp reversal Wednesday, choppy recovery Thursday/Friday — gives you a realistic picture of what live trading looks like. Reach out or visit the site 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.*