Nurse in The Market 7-5-26 Sunday Market Playbook
A top-down analysis of last week's market movement and a plan for the week ahead.
Welcome back to your weekly market checkup!
I hope you had an amazing week!
ICYMI, you can see last week’s top play of the week here →
Top Pick of The Week: The Next Layer of the Autonomous Vehicle Trade
A few months ago, seeing a Waymo in Miami felt unusual.
A quick highlight from last week →
DoorDash Inc. DASH 0.00%↑ hit its first target signaling its time to lock in profits here! Price is also trading at a near extreme-high RSI reading. Price is also trading fairly valued here. Make sure to respect your profit targets and indicators and lock in some gains, but also leave some to run.
Let’s dig into last week’s market recap and the playbook for the week ahead →
The markets were fun last week.
The biggest move wasn’t the indexes—it was the rotation happening underneath them.
A softer-than-expected June jobs report helped calm fears of additional Federal Reserve tightening, giving investors confidence to broaden their exposure beyond mega-cap technology.
Money didn’t leave the market.
It simply changed direction.
Capital rotated into undervalued sectors like Financials XLF 0.00%↑ , Industrials XLI 0.00%↑ , Healthcare XLV 0.00%↑ , and other cyclical businesses that had spent months sitting in the shadows of the AI trade.
Energy markets also kept investors on their toes.
Early in the week, rising tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher on fears of supply disruptions.
However, as peace negotiations progressed later in the week, those concerns eased, sending crude oil back below $70 per barrel and weighing on energy stocks.
That shift rippled across the broader market. Lower oil USO 0.00%↑ prices helped ease inflation concerns, influencing everything from Treasury bonds to cryptocurrencies.
While long-term bonds remained under pressure, Bitcoin ($BTCUSD) caught a fresh bid as investors became more comfortable taking on risk again.
Overall, the week felt less like a market correction and more like a healthy broadening of participation.
Rather than relying on a handful of AI leaders to carry the market, investors began looking for opportunities in sectors that had lagged behind.
It’s exactly the kind of rotation I’d expect to see in a maturing bull market, where leadership expands beyond a small group of high-flying stocks.
The Dow Jones (DIA) was the top performing index of the Big 3, while the Nasdaq (QQQ) was the worst.
I. The Market Vitals (Best to Worst)
Here’s how the 7 major asset classes ranked this week:
The Dow Jones 30 DIA 0.00%↑
The S&P 500 SPY 0.00%↑
Bitcoin ($BTCUSD)
The Nasdaq-100 QQQ 0.00%↑
Gold GLD 0.00%↑
20 Year Bonds Treasury ETF TLT 0.00%↑
Oil USO 0.00%↑
♥️Market Pulse: 4/7
4/7 assets are up.
BTC, GLD, DIA, and, SPY are up.
QQQ, TLT, and USO are down.
The biggest story last week wasn’t the market—it was the rotation happening beneath the surface.
Investors weren’t selling stocks and heading for the exits. They were simply changing where they wanted to own them.
After months of leadership from mega-cap technology and AI, money began rotating into undervalued sectors like financials, industrials, and other cyclical businesses that had largely been left behind.
Meanwhile, many semiconductor and AI stocks pulled back as traders took profits after an impressive run.
To me, that looks less like a warning sign and more like a healthy broadening of the market.
II. Section Rotation (11 SPDR S&P 500 Sectors)
One of the clearest themes last week was sector rotation.
Money flowed into areas of the market that had been largely overlooked while many of this year’s biggest technology winners took a breather.
Financials XLF 0.00%↑ led the market, climbing 3.54% as investors rotated into banks and other value-oriented companies. That strength helped lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA 0.00%↑ , which gained 1.39% for the week.
Materials XLB 0.00%↑ followed closely, rising 2.66%, while Health Care XLV 0.00%↑ finished as the third-best performing sector, advancing 1.87%.
Healthcare’s biggest move came on Thursday after FDA advisors unanimously backed Moderna’s MRNA 0.00%↑ new mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine. The positive regulatory news sent MRNA shares sharply higher and helped fuel a broader rally across biotechnology and healthcare.
Technology XLK 0.00%↑ , meanwhile, took a well-deserved pause.
After leading the market for much of the year, Technology XLK 0.00%↑ slipped 0.29%, while the Nasdaq-100 QQQ 0.00%↑ finished slightly lower as investors locked in profits and rotated into sectors offering more attractive valuations.
To me, this wasn’t a sign that investors are abandoning AI or technology.
It was a healthy reminder that bull markets rarely rely on one sector forever.
As leadership broadens, opportunities often begin appearing in places the market had previously overlooked.
💡 My Takeaway
I actually view this rotation as a positive development.
Healthy bull markets don’t depend on a handful of mega-cap technology stocks carrying the entire market. They broaden over time, with leadership expanding into financials, healthcare, industrials, and other sectors as investors look for value and diversify their exposure.
If this trend continues, I think we’ll start seeing more opportunities outside of AI and semiconductors.
That doesn’t mean the AI story is over—it simply means investors are becoming more selective and looking for quality businesses trading at attractive valuations.
That’s exactly the kind of environment where some of my favorite investment ideas begin to emerge.
III. Important Sectors & ETFs
Beyond the main sectors, here’s what stood out this week:
The biggest story beneath the surface wasn’t investors leaving technology—it was where they chose to stay invested.
One of the clearest examples was the sharp difference between software and semiconductors.
The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF IGV 0.00%↑ climbed 4.09%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX 0.00%↑ fell 7.82%.
To me, that’s a sign investors weren’t giving up on technology altogether. Instead, they rotated away from some of the market’s biggest AI and semiconductor winners after an incredible run and into software companies with recurring revenue, stable cash flow, and more attractive valuations.
Outside of technology, investors continued looking for defensive opportunities.
Silver SLV 0.00%↑ was the week’s best-performing ETF, gaining 4.44%, followed by Gold Miners GDX 0.00%↑ , which rose 3.63% as precious metals benefited from easing interest rate expectations.
Healthcare also attracted fresh capital, with the iShares Biotechnology ETF IBB 0.00%↑ hit a new record high after climbing 3.11% after positive regulatory news surrounding MRNA’s seasonal flu vaccine.
Meanwhile, The Russell 2000 Index IWM 0.00%↑ and Homebuilders XHB 0.00%↑ struggled as investors favored larger, higher-quality companies with stronger balance sheets.
💡 My Takeaway
To me, this wasn’t a “risk-off” week. It was a selective rotation.
Investors didn’t abandon technology—they became more selective within it. They also broadened their exposure by adding positions in financials, healthcare, precious metals, and other sectors that had been overshadowed by the AI trade.
That’s exactly what I’d expect to see in a healthy market.
Leadership begins to expand and when leadership expands, new opportunities often emerge where few investors have been looking.
I like ARKK and IGV for trade ideas this week. I also like GDX and GDXJ if price confirms the accumulation zone here. NUGT, GDXU, and JNUG for leveraged plays. I’m looking for any pullback on the IWM for small-cap trade setups.
IV. What Assets & Sectors I’m Watching
Here’s what I’m focused on next week:
Oil (USO): Will price keep continuing lower here or find a bottom.
XLE and XOP both put in doji bars last Thursday, I’m watching for price to put in a bottom.
Brent Crude Oil ($BRENT) fell even more and is trading below its 200-day SMA.
Dow Jones (DIA): Price is trading at a near extreme-high RSI reading. Use caution here and lock in profits when necessary and leave some to run.
The S&P 500 (SPY): Held its breakout. Let’s see if price holds above its 20-day SMA or not here.
The Nasdaq (QQQ): The breakout failed. Price closed below its 20-day SMA and came back into an accumulation zone.
Bitcoin (BTC): Price has entered a breakout here below its 200-day SMA.
CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF WGMI 0.00%↑ fell over 10% last week and is trading at a near extreme-low RSI reading.
Gold (GLD): Price is an accumulation zone giving us a potential trade idea this week.
Price is trading below its 200-day SMA which is considered bearish.
I’m watching USO for a bottom and watching to see if the QQQ holds here.
V. Individual Stock Highlights & Winners From Last Week
Profit-Taking Opportunities:
DIA
XLV, XLF
IBB, KRE
JNJ, AMGN, MRK, LLY, MRNA, AXP, BAC
DASH, AIR, VKTX, ETSY
UDOW, CURE, FAS, PILL, DPST
Congratulations to everyone in these trades!
VI. Nurse Jess’s Trade Ideas
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