Weekly Recap: October 30, 2026
This Week's Market
The Fed held rates steady on Wednesday, October 28, but it was a hawkish hold: two members dissented because they wanted a hike right away. The market had already priced in the hold, and the Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.27% that day. Earnings did the damage. Alphabet reported Wednesday night and fell 12.6% on Thursday as fears about AI spending came back. Amazon and Intel reported Thursday night. Amazon was down as much as 5.9% Friday morning before closing down 1.4%, and Intel fell 28.6%. Chips (SOX) dropped 7.2% on Friday, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.86%, its worst day since June 5, the day before Halloween. Measured from the October 23 close, the Nasdaq finished the week down 2.00% and the S&P 500 (SPY) down 0.56%.
The lesson for a sector flush: let the opening flush finish, then trade proven support. That was my Intel trade on Friday morning. It opened at $68.36 and flushed to $65.00 by 9:34, then held near $65. I bought that support, rode a small bounce, and got out within a couple of minutes, before it flushed again to $64.11 at 9:55.
Good Trade
CRWV, a breakout and hold on Monday, October 26. Buyers kept lifting it above $55.20 without slowing, and the 10:41 bar closed at $55.60 on about 224,000 shares. I bought 500 shares at $55.70 at 10:42. It pulled back to $55.41 and held, and I added 290 more at $55.51, for 790 shares at a $55.63 average. My line was $55.20: a break back below it would have meant the buyers lost control and the sellers were coming back. It held, and at 10:47 it cleared $56 on about 280,000 shares, which confirmed the idea. At 10:52 it printed the biggest volume bar of the run, about 626,000 shares, with a wick to $57.12, and the sellers were fighting right at $57. I sold all 790 shares into that fight for $1.41 a share, about 10 minutes after my entry. On a breakout, look for price clearing a level it had been failing at, with volume building as it breaks. A drop back below the line is what invalidates it.
Bad Trade
CRWV again, a short on the same Monday morning, right before the long. CRWV ran from $53.48 at 10:12 to $55.55 at 10:23, then three red bars took it from $55.44 down to $54.72, with a low of $54.68 at 10:26. I read that as a reversal and expected the sellers to keep pushing it lower. Instead of waiting for an actual break of $54.68, I shorted 460 shares at $54.83 at 10:27, into the bounce off that level. My stop was $55.20, but it was only in my head; no order was placed. The best it gave me was $54.65, 18 cents in my favor. A wick crossed $55.20 at 10:31, and at 10:38 it closed at $55.30, through my line. I still held, and covered all 460 shares at $55.65 at 10:42 for a loss of 82 cents a share. Getting out at the line would have kept it to roughly 30 to 40 cents. That's anchoring again: I had decided $55.55 was the high, so every push higher looked like a better short instead of a sign I was wrong. I tagged it in my journal as held too long.
What to Watch Next Week
- Read the buyers, then flip. I bought at $55.70 just 23 seconds after covering the short. A level that stops one side out is often the other side's entry. Only flip into a real setup, though (rising volume, higher highs and higher lows). Flipping just to win the money back is another loss.
- Exit on the break. A stop in your head only protects you if you act on it. The safest move is a live stop at the line as you enter; at the very least, set an alert there.
- The line decides, not me. The winner dipped to $55.41 and held my $55.20 line, so I stayed in. The loser closed through it at $55.30, so I should have been out. Write the line down before the entry, and when it breaks, get out. Don't hope.
Share counts and per-share figures are shown to illustrate how each trade was managed, not as a suggested position size. Scale any example to your own account and your own risk. This is trade review and education, not financial advice.