Morning Pulse Comments for Market Action on 8/3

Below are highlights from the NDW Morning Update Video for the morning of 08/03. Access the the video on the NDW Morning Update Video page. 

• It was an overwhelmingly productive day for most global equity markets yesterday, seeing growth focused areas in NASD & RUT lead the way to the upside. NASD picked up 2+%, while the Russell 2000 advanced just under 1.75% to reverse back higher on its default chart.
• The S&P 500 (SPX) picked up roughly 1.5%, returning to all-time chart highs after what has seemed like a rocky exhale to open Q3. The technical picture for SPX remains quite constructive, with some now solidified support around 7250-7350 on its default chart.
• With the productive day, SPX reversed back into X’s on its 1% Relative Strength chart against SPXEWI, signaling an uptick in strength for cap-weighted assets. This chart has historically provided a consistent picture of strength, with either your RS Switching (owning whichever asset sits on a buy signal) or reversal portfolio (owning whichever asset sits in X’s) outperforming a buy and hold portfolio of either asset individually.
• The notable decliner for the day was crude, which slipped 5%. It got back down into the low $80’s/high $70’s, a point which has been an important line in the sand throughout 2026 amid conflict in the Iran. Watch this point closely to see if markets are pricing in further deescalation or a pick back up in tensions.
• Notable earnings: CAT picked up ~8% on productive results. It has fallen off its 2026 highs but remains a technically defendable asset. PLTR gained ~14% in premarket trading, but is still in the red for the year. Watch for a failed breakout after the report. AMD reports after close on 8/4. It trades off its respective highs but maintains its strong technical posturing ahead of the report. Watch $432 towards the downside and $460-$484 to the upside.