Momentum Quietly Improves but Valuations and the Week Ahead Demand Protection
Add Portfolio Protection. Stocks are priced richly while momentum is soft and the calendar ahead is packed with market-moving events.
October 26, 2026 at 12:02 PM EDT
Justification
Stocks are priced richly while momentum is soft and the calendar ahead is packed with market-moving events. The VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, sits at 18.3 — options are cheap, which makes buying protective puts an attractive hedge right now. RSI, a momentum gauge, is 47.2, and stock valuations are higher than roughly 75 of every 100 months since 2006. Watch the 10-year Treasury yield at 4.96% — any move back toward 5.1% this week would pressure both bonds and equities.
Since the Last Issue
- VIX fell from 19.24 to 17.9, the lowest reading in the past five issues — cheap options now favor buying puts over selling them
- S&P 500 rose from 7623.7 to 7675.6, trimming the gap from its 52-week high to 1.8%
📡 Today's Opportunity Radar: SMH · URA · ITB. Full ideas in the Opportunity Radar section below.
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