Power Hour #1: Worst Financials Day Ever — And AI Pulled the Trigger – Monday 2/23/2026

The financial sector just posted its worst single-day reading ever recorded. Not worst this year. Not worst this decade. Worst ever. And the scary part? It didn't happen because of a bank failure or a Fed surprise. It happened because of a rumor about artificial intelligence. Today, we unpack what that actually means and where the smart money quietly ran while everyone else was watching the carnage. Mm-hmm. Okay, so when you say worst ever... I mean worst ever. Like the ATR reading hit the zeroth percentile. Right. And for people who don't live in the data like we do, that's basically like recording the coldest temperature ever measured. It's not just cold, it's off-the-charts cold. Yeah, exactly. And we're talking about KKR falling 8.2% to $92.88, BX dropping 7.1% to $112.62. cents. These aren't some random small caps. No, these are the pillars of institutional finance. Right, right. The Dow shed 1.5%, worst of the major indices, and it was all financials exposure driving that. Yeah. Honestly, the Blue Owl Capital redemption story overnight is what's keeping me up. Because if that spreads, it's contagion. It's contagion, yeah. So the financials collapsed, but why? To understand that, we have to go back to where this all started. A single narrative about artificial intelligence that didn't stay where it was supposed to. Oh, wow. Okay, so it's like throwing a stone in a pond. The ripples just kept spreading. Right, exactly. And the first splash was in software. CRW down 10.3%. DD Dog down 10.0%. Last week's recovery now looks like... A trap. Total trap. But here's the thing. The ripples hit payments next. AXP fell 7.6%. Visa dropped 3 Mm Wait why payments though Because the market is pricing in a world where AI reduces transaction volumes Like if AI handles more stuff internally do we need as many financial intermediaries Yeah, totally. Huh. I didn't think of it that way. Sure. Right. And then it spread to private equity. KKR and BX got hammered because AI disruption fears are making investors question the capital flows that private equity depends on. So it's like that rumor in a crowded restaurant. It started at the tech table, but soon everyone was whispering and heading for the exit. Oh man, that's exactly it. And the VIX jumping 12.9% to 21.6%. That's measurable fear. Yeah, but here's what's easy to miss when you're watching a market drop 1%. Somewhere in that same market, there were sectors that didn't just hold up, they actually went up. Oh, healthcare was a completely different story. Like an umbrella store on a rainy day. Wow. Right. Healthcare ATR at negative 0.23, 63rd percentile, dramatically outperforming the broader market. And LLY. Dude, LLY searched 4.5% to $1,055. Because of the NVO trial failure? Right. Exactly. NVO's weight loss drug trial failed, and that's a direct windfall for Eli Lilly. In pharma, one company's disaster is another's catalyst. Consumer staples gained 1.1% while the market fell 1%. That's a 200 basis point spread. That's significant. WMT up 2.2% to $125.72, the ultimate defensive name doing exactly what it's supposed to do. And our 2LYN strategy is finding 66 healthcare continuation signals. So the algorithm is seeing the same thing the macro rotation is. Showing, exactly. But here's the thing, when you look under the hood of this market, the healthcare and stable strength isn't just a feel-good story, it's actually a warning sign in disguise. How so? Mm-hmm. Because when the only place conviction exists is in defensive sectors the breadth data tells a very uncomfortable truth Okay so if the S only dropped 1 how bad can it really be B Bull signals at 122 versus bear signals at 560 That ratio alone tells you who controls this market. Oh, wow. Only 43% of stocks above their 20-day moving average. The average stock is already in a downtrend. Right. And the 40-day? 50.8% above the 40-day SMA. Barely a coin flip and deteriorating. But the most striking... Number zero sub-signals today. Not one strong uptrend is holding a key level anywhere in the market. Yeah, that's like a sports team where no single player is having a good game. Right. Even if the score looks close, the momentum is all wrong. Watching only the S&P level right now is like judging a restaurant by its best dish while ignoring that most of the menu is terrible. So the breadth is broken. But here's what's really interesting. The way institutions are selling today is actually more concerning than if they were panicking. Oh, you noticed that too. TSLA and AMZN were both down on below average volume. Why is that scarier than a high volume crash? Because panic selling is like a fire alarm clearing a building in minutes. This is like people quietly slipping out one by one over hours. Which is harder to stop. Right. Much harder. Methodical distribution can persist for days without triggering the kind of capitulation that marks a bottom, and we breached the 50-day MA at 6,897. Algorithmic selling territory? Sure, exactly. Machines have rules, not emotions. Once that level breaks, the selling can accelerate mechanically. It's like a thermostat. Once the temperature hits the threshold, the system kicks in automatically. So what's the next level to watch? Next major support at 6 Bulls need to reclaim 6 to invalidate the breakdown Okay so we have historic financial weakness broken breadth quiet institutional selling and a technical breakdown What do you actually do with all of this LABC principle Always be in control. I like that. But there are 131 reversal signals on the scanner right now. Yeah, and acting on most of them right now is catching a falling knife with your bare hands. Even with 131 setups? Look, without volume confirmation in this environment, they're traps. FTHM with 6.0 RVL at 1176. That's what real confirmation looks like. Most of the 131 don't have that. What about the high-risk names? BCC at 111.3% risk percentile. This is what to avoid, not chase. So raising cash is actually a position? So basically, absolutely. In a market with zero SIP signals and historic financial sector weakness, doing less is doing more. And overnight risks? Two wild cards. Trump's 15% global tariff expansion? That's macro. Blue Owl Capital Redemptions? That's sector-specific. Both could AmpliTie Tuesday's Open in either direction. I mean, so today wasn't just a bad day. It was a historically bad day for financials, driven by AI disruption fears that spread far beyond tech. The breath data, the zero-sip signals, and the quiet institutional selling all point the same direction. This is a market where capital preservation beats opportunity hunting. You know what? The smart money is in healthcare and staples. The smart move is staying in control. Honestly, watch 6900 on the S&P tomorrow morning. That level will tell you everything about whether Tuesday is a recovery or a continuation. Pull up your positions tonight and ask one question for each one. Does this name have volume confirmation and a clear technical floor? If the answer is no, consider whether holding it through tomorrow's open is a decision or a hope. Subscribe to Power Hour Seer back here tomorrow with the overnight developments fully unpacked before the bell rings. We'll see you then.