There’s only one catalyst I’m watching right now. That makes things incredibly simple.
Instead of following several stories and a watchlist full of 20 different stocks…
Focus on one setup.
When there’s less to watch, there’s less to stress about. Take a load off.
There’s no reason to have FOMO…
And I have the data to prove it.
This market is lazy. The craziness will return, trust me. Soon you’ll have too many plays to keep track of.
But right now there’s only one catalyst to watch.
No Need for FOMO
In case you didn’t know by now, we need volatility to find trade setups.
When prices jump back and forth, it gives us room to buy and sell contracts for larger percent gains.
When stocks move lazily, there’s less meat on the bone, less food on the table.
That’s the market we’re in right now.
Here’s the proof: the average daily range of the IWM has collapsed in August.
The median range is below 1%. The tightest range this month was below 0.5%. And the widest range is the lowest of 2026.
You can see it on the chart too…
Keep your guns in their holsters … this is a lazy market.
The momentum will return in the fall and winter months. Before you know it, we’ll have too many setups to watch.
Until then, focus on this one setup…
My #1 Watch
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) reports earnings on August 26.
And the most recent earnings season was very divisive.
Investors are shifting their sentiment in the AI sector. They’re no longer rewarding outlandish AI spending unless there’s revenue to back it up.
A perfect example is the split sentiment we saw on July 29 when Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced earnings.
META’s AI spending didn’t feel warranted and the stock cratered.
Advertising revenue grew, but the company is still spending an incredible amount on AI: $31.1 billion, which is roughly double what it spent last year.
As a result, the company’s cash flow went from $8.55 billion to $784 million. That’s a huge drop.
MSFT logged quarterly wins with Azure and Microsoft 365 Copilot, but more importantly, it didn’t change its AI spending forecast.
The stock shot higher after the announcement and made new YTD highs.
NVDA is still the most famous AI stock in the market…
No matter what the earnings say, I expect to see volatility both from the announcement and leading up to the announcement.
Volatility means we have more opportunity for trading gains.
Keep an eye on NVDA and other AI/tech stocks as we approach August 26. That’s on Wednesday of next week.
And remember, if you don’t see a setup that you like in the market, THAT’S OK.
The price action is lazy. You can always sit on your hands and wait for the volatility to return this fall.
Stay Street Smart,
Jeff Zananiri
*Past performance does not indicate future results, Not typical.