Midday Market

Midday Wave #96: Breadth Cracks: Stall, Not Break – Wednesday 8/26/2026

Episode 965:02

0:005:02

Episode summary

20SMA breadth collapsed from 74% to 19% in a single session, but sellers never showed up — signaling a buyer stall rather than a reversal. The hosts break down sector rotation, fading continuation signals like ARGX, and defensive Stocks in Play like HD and LOW to map out an afternoon game plan.

Chapter by chapter

20SMA Breadth Craters

Breadth on the 20SMA falls 55 points in one session while the 40SMA holds, framing the key question of the day.

Buyers Vanish, Sellers Stay Home

Bull 4% signals plunge while Bear 4% signals barely move, confirming a stall rather than a sell-off.

Sector Leaders and Laggards

Communication Services and Energy lead while Industrials and Technology slip into the bottom percentiles.

Continuation Signals Fade

Only ARGX holds up among 111 continuation signals, but low RVOL raises doubts; software names like ADBE and CRM stay red.

Stocks in Play: HD Halo Effect

HD's Q2 beat lifts LOW, VEEV, and WEAV, while PONY flags as a short-side risk.

Institutional Confirmation Thin

Only AADX and SUJA show real fund backing in the 20% Study; the rest is noise.

Defensive Bias Into the Close

Sizing down and demanding volume confirmation as the key levels to watch are ARGX at $1047 and HD holding its open.

Key points

  • 20SMA breadth dropped from 74% to 19% in one session, but Bear 4% signals barely moved — this is a buyer stall, not a sell-off
  • Technology fell to the 29th percentile, a caution flag against chasing tech longs, while Communication Services and Energy lead
  • Only ARGX holds up among continuation signals, but weak RVOL (0.8) means the move lacks real conviction
  • HD's earnings beat is creating a halo effect lifting LOW, with VEEV and WEAV also showing strength
  • Afternoon bias turns defensive: size down and demand volume confirmation before chasing any signals

Ticker charts

ARGX

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open ARGX in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

ADBE

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open ADBE in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

CRM

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open CRM in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

APPF

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open APPF in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

HD

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open HD in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

LOW

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open LOW in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

VEEV

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open VEEV in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

WEAV

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open WEAV in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

PONY

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open PONY in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

AADX

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open AADX in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

SUJA

Open in app
SMAUp (filled)Down (hollow)

Use left and right arrows to move through history, plus and minus to zoom, ] and [ to open the next and previous event, Escape to close its card, Enter to open SUJA in WaveFinder.

Daily bars through Aug 26, 2026.

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