HaiKhuu Daily Report - 08/19/2026
Good morning and happy Wednesday! Man, this week has flown by! We are already halfway through the week, and $SPY is relatively neutral at the time of writing this report. We have FOMC minutes coming out today, and this is going to be an interesting and relatively more difficult day to navigate as a result.
Tread lightly on a day like today because with the way the markets are reacting, general conditions are going to be difficult to navigate and relatively inconsistent. It will be tough to navigate these conditions on an intraday basis as I am expecting neutrality and chop on an intraday basis today.
I’ll talk more about the general game plans for the day later in the full report, but until then, we are sitting back, relaxing, and preparing for what may become an extremely difficult day for the markets.
Let’s hope that FOMC minutes don’t impact the markets heavily, and that everything is in line with our expectations. Life is good, and so are these market conditions, so please practice safe risk management and protect your bottom line!
Good luck trading today, and let’s see what $SPY does!
The updated $SPY daily levels are as follows:
Conversion Line Support: $773.14
Baseline Support: $754.24
Psychological Support: $760
Previous All-Time High: $779.37
Daily Cloud Support: $742.45
Thoughts & Comments from Yesterday - 8/18/2026
Yesterday was a gross day for the general markets. We expected difficult market conditions leading into the open, but man, yesterday was a tough time. We had an extremely narrow range that gave us no great opportunities to scalp or day trade. Some people capitalized on short-term intraday momentum, and we caught some alright shorts, but overall, yesterday was a tough day for the general markets.
We started the day with $SPY opening at $768.73. General market conditions were less than ideal, yet traders were stuck with their expectations. Everyone hoped the markets would recover overnight, but with the ongoing war news, conditions remained rough and relatively neutral.
The entire first hour of the day was extremely slow and choppy; some individuals attempted to allocate, but I will say that the large majority of traders within that first hour most likely got chopped around and did not have any great opportunities to capitalize on. We saw our first and only real intraday movement leading into the lunchtime lull where $SPY quickly went from trading at the high of the day ($769.50), to dropping and making a relative low right under $768.
Anyone who tried to catch the short into the lunchtime lull didn't see much movement, but $SPY dropped roughly $2 from the top, and conditions were less than ideal. We recovered slightly, yet remained within an extremely tight range. We recovered slightly in the afternoon, reclaiming $768, but again remained in a super tight, choppy range all the way to close.
We did see minor bearish momentum in the final hour or so of the day, and we ended the day with $SPY trading at $767.45, meaning $SPY was down roughly $5 for the day, or down 0.7% overall.
What I will say about the market conditions of yesterday is that, again, obviously less than ideal; conditions could have been better, and traders could have easily been chopped around. Some of the best and luckiest traders were able to capitalize on yesterday's momentum, but it was a tough day for the vast majority of individuals. Hopefully market conditions are better leading into today, and I hope you all are ready for some more confusion!
S&P 500 Heat Map - 08/18/2026
Thoughts & Comments for Today - 08/19/2026
Today is going to be a rougher day for the general markets. With the inconsistencies we are seeing in the markets right now, it is good to be optimistic, but it is imperative that we all remain rational with our expectations, follow the general market momentum, and prepare for the inconsistencies ahead. With the market momentum we are seeing leading into today, and the FOMC being released later, I expect market conditions will be tougher to navigate today.
Hopefully, we see easier general market conditions and strong momentum that gives us opportunities to allocate with confidence, but leading into today, my biggest concern is continued large-scale neutrality as people prepare for the FOMC minutes.
If I am being honest with you all, I do not know how much I personally anticipate trading today. I will always be looking for opportunities to scalp and trade in the short term, but this is also one of those situations where, as much as I want to be excited and optimistic about the current conditions, market conditions are less than ideal until we get a directional breakout.
But, if I am going to attempt to trade anything, today is one of those days that I personally will be looking to stay away from option contracts, and will be looking to specifically trade some of these higher beta tech organizations that sold off yesterday. I am not saying that all of them are going to recover or move up, but in reality, with the way these organizations have trended over the previous couple of trading days, it is almost hard not to want to try and find a buy-the-dip opportunity. So please, keep your eyes out on the chip and semi sector specifically, under the assumption that at least ONE of these organizations is going to recover. I do not know which organization, but I am sure at least one of these companies will have strong general momentum today, so whichever it is, follow the trend and allocate properly.
Regardless of everything, just prepare for FOMC minutes. Minutes should not impact the markets heavily, but emphasis on SHOULD not. If it does impact us or not, that is a completely different story, but given the current market conditions and way that things are trending, as long as you are practicing safe risk management and allocating with confidence, you shouldn’t have to worry too much.
So just look to make the most out of the opportunities and volatility leading into today. Do not attempt to trade neutrality and chop, and do not attempt to fight the trends. Allocate into the discounted organizations, and hope for the best in these market conditions. I am expecting you all to kill it today, so let’s have an amazing day and realize some gains!
If I see any opportunities, or if I decide to get into any other plays, I’ll announce what I see in the HaiKhuu Discord.
My Personal Watchlist:
Note, just because something is on my watchlist does not mean it is a signal to buy or sell any equities
Watchlist:
Tech: $ORCL, $TSLA, $SPCX, $SNDK, $NVDA, $MU, $AMD, $INTC
Speculative: $PTLO, $AIFF , $RIVN
Long Dividend: $JEPI
Long Investment: $PTLO
Crypto: $MSTR, SOL, BTC
Economic News for 08/19/2026 (ET):
FOMC Minutes - 2:00 PM
Notable Earnings for 08/19/2026:
Pre-Market Earnings:
Target (TGT)
Analog Devices (ADI)
Lowe's Companies (LOW)
The TJX Companies (TJX)
The Estee Lauder Companies (EL)
ZIM Integrated (ZIM)
Viking Holdings (VIK)
Kingsoft Cloud Holdings (KC)
After Market Earnings:
BILL Holdings (BILL)
Alvotech (ALVO)
Webull (BULL)
Coty (COTY)
Nordson (NDSN)
Telix Pharmaceuticals (TLX)
Wrap up
This will be an interesting time for the general markets. Conditions are not the best leading into today; we are seeing neutrality and mild bearish momentum. Traders will have a tougher time navigating the short-term volatility, but opportunities will still be presented, so make the most of these conditions. Life is good and so are these markets, so let’s have some fun, realize some gains, and have an amazing time!
Good luck trading, and let’s see where FOMC takes us!