Below are highlights from the NDW Morning Update Video for the morning of 9/2. Access the video on the NDW Morning Update Video page. 

• Equity futures are about flat this morning after rebounding from overnight lows. Crude oil down 1.3% after a big up day on Tuesday that saw it gain more than 5%.
• Equities were down across the board yesterday. The S&P 500 (SPX) was down 71 bps. Tech led to the downside as the Nasdaq-100 (NDX) fell 1.29% and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) lost more than 2%.
• International equities were also down as the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) were down 89 and 37 bps, respectively.
• Yesterday’s move returned crude oil (CL/) to a buy signal on its default P&F chart as it broke a double top at $88 and continued higher to $90.
• The 10-year US Treasury Yield Index (TNX) reached 4.8%, its highest level since January 2025. The fed futures market is now pricing in a 66% chance that the Fed will raise rates at its September meeting. This is a significant increase from a week ago when the market was pricing in only about a 36% chance of a hike at this meeting. Comments from Fed Chair Warsh affirming his commitment to controlling inflation have helped fuel expectations for higher rates.
• Yesterday’s research focused on uncertainty in small caps in the face of rising rates. Small caps are typically one of the most rate-sensitive segments of the market as higher borrowing costs can be especially difficult for smaller companies to shoulder.
• Broadcom (AVGO) is to set to report earnings today after the close. AVGO is currently a 3 for 5’er and sits on a buy signal after breaking a double top at $376 last week. From here, AVGO’s chart shows support at $352, but beyond level no further support is seen on its default chart until $292. While AVGO’s trend chart does not look particularly strong currently, the long-term relative strength picture remains decidedly positive as AVGO has been on a market RS buy signal since 2014 and a peer RS buy signal since 2010.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It! Communication services is at its lowest position within the NDW DALI Sector rankings in nearly two years. Sitting in 7th, the sector has struggled mightily so far in 2026, lagging several other areas of the investable universe. Down almost 6% so far this year, XLC has underperformed the broad market (SPX) by nearly 18%. With the lack of upside action, XLC has dropped significantly in fund score, now scoring at a sub-optimal 2.60 fund score as of 9/1. The fund has scored below NDW’s technically acceptable 3.0 fund score since late May, and its overall technical posture has become increasingly difficult to defend even as other risk-on areas of the market continue to march forward.

Speaking of other areas of the market, many of you will closely associate the communication services sector with technology. After all, the comm services sector at large was a spinoff of technology starting in 2018, bringing media giants over into their own group and taking some market weighting out of the technology sector. Side note: the introduction of the communication services sector brought technology’s weight in the S&P 500 down to ~20% after claims that the market had become too reliant on the sector. The current weight of technology within the S&P 500 today sits at nearly double that- is it time for a “semiconductors” sector?

Jokes about market concentration aside, it certainly isn’t “wrong” to lump together technology and communication services together. After all, the two seem to generally  move in tandem. The chart below shows the rolling six-month performance spread between representatives XLK & XLC since mid-2000. On average, the six-month performance spread sits at just 1.52% (1.43% median) favoring XLK. Over the last six months, this spread has ballooned to nearly 38%, which would equate to a 99.7th percentile move. While it goes without saying that an elevated spread doesn’t necessarily mean one group is due to accelerate/slow down, it does help contextualize the dispersion in returns.

Underneath the hood of the sector, there are plenty of household names that would be part of anyone’s “buy what you know” portfolio. Perhaps the largest non-pure-tech-focused of the bunch would be Disney, which has been quite interesting to follow over the last few years.  Like clockwork, DIS has strung together failed breakout after failed breakout as upward action has been quickly beaten down by bears. After breaking back into a positive trend to open August, another failed breakout here could send Mickey Mouse back towards 2026 lows at $93. Keep a close eye on reversals for those of you who might be willing to open short/bearish positions to take advantage of the 1/5’er’s rangebound movement.

More tech-oriented META has struggled so far in 2026, earning a lousy 0/5 technical attribute rating as it continues to flirt with 2026 lows. While bulls have been quick to defend the $525 mark, META has put in a string of lower highs (and failed breakouts for that matter) since its highs last August. It looks to be forming a sort of triangle pattern on its default chart, with landmarks on either side of current levels ranging from 2026 lows at $528 and a slew of resistance from $592 to the bearish resistance line at $640. For now, the path of least resistance looks to be lower. Even highflier Alphabet (GOOGL), (GOOG) looks to have slowed down. While still positive for the year, it trades well off highs and the all-time highs from May seem a ways away. Now only a 3/5’er, the TA scoring system would suggest we hold off on adding any new allocation for now.

Remember, you can certainly find strong technical pictures across any given sector... even weakening ones. That said, it may be slightly more difficult to do so, and the penalty for being “wrong” may be more intense than in those areas that sector tailwinds are on your side. Regardless, keep an eye on the charts to help you decipher price action as it emerges within your portfolio.

Each week the analysts at NDW review and comment on all major asset classes in the global markets. Shown below is the summary or snapshot of the primary technical indicators we follow for multiple areas. Should there be changes mid-week we will certainly bring these to your attention via the report.

Remember, these are technical comments only. Just as you must be aware of fundamental data for the stocks we recommend based on technical criteria in the report, so too must you be aware of important data regarding delivery, market moving government releases, and other factors that may influence commodity pricing. We try to limit our technical comments to the most actively traded contracts in advance of delivery, but some contracts trade actively right up to delivery while others taper off well in advance. Be sure you check your dates before trading these contracts. For questions regarding this section or additional coverage of commodities email james.west@nasdaq.com.

Data represented in the table below is through 9/1/2026:

Portfolio View - Commodity Indices

Cryptocurrency Update

Cryptocurrency Video (3:22)

The option suggestions featured here are pulled from the NDW Options Ideas tool. These are just a sample of the ideas that can be found there. The Options Idea tool contains numerous additional income and speculative plays. It also offers relative strength-based screens targeting the highest (and lowest) relative strength stocks and ETFs that have recently moved counter to their longer-term trend. To access or subscribe to the Options Ideas tool, click here.

Call

Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG) Nov 20 $200 Call

Put

The Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW) Dec 18 $340 Put

Income

Intel Corporation (INTC) Oct 2 $102 Covered Call