Equities remain exceptionally strong, though this isn’t entirely unexpected. Trump has always used the same tactics, which can be summarized as max pressure before negotiation to achieve the maximum possible. Simply put, Trump doesn’t want war, he wants a deal. And with the midterm elections approaching, elevated gas prices would be devastating. Trump promised to push gas below $2 per gallon, so he not only wants a deal, he wants it fast. Otherwise, equities will reprice higher inflation, which Trump can’t tolerate. He watches the market closely and pumps it whenever there’s a meaningful drawdown. The market has learned this. We saw a full recovery on Monday and a meaningful recovery yesterday, and again equity futures are green as I’m writing this despite a worldwide equity meltdown overnight. I’ve traded many wartime markets, and frankly this is the most manipulated one. Be patient, my dear subscribers. Once the key names break below the key levels, no rhetoric can salvage it.

SPX opened below the key 6.8K support level but managed to climb back before the close.

NDX broke below the uptrend support line that has lifted the index countless times over the past month, but it remains above the key 24.2K support level.