Earnings Season Arrives Into a Market With Almost No Margin for Error
October 11, 2026 at 6:02 PM EDT
Justification
Markets feel calm right now, but calm at these prices carries real cost. Stock valuations sit higher than roughly 79 out of every 100 months since 2006, leaving little cushion if anything goes wrong. The VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, is 14.8 — well below its one-year average of 18.1, which makes protective put options unusually cheap right now. Buy a few puts on your largest equity positions before earnings season shakes things up.
Since the Last Issue
- Fear and Greed Index moved from 44 to 45 since the prior issue, staying in neutral territory but recovering from last week's fear reading of 38.
- VIX fell from 14.9 to 14.8 since the prior issue, extending its slide below the one-year average of 18.1.
📡 Today's Opportunity Radar: XBI · NLR · IWM. Full ideas in the Opportunity Radar section below.
Know one person who watches the market? Send them this issue. They get the first week free at market-pulse-daily.ghost.io.