🌎 Market Context * Stock futures are slightly positive ahead of the July employment report at 8:30 AM ET. * Payrolls are expected to increase by roughly 80,000–83,000, with unemployment holding near 4.2%. A large surprise could produce sharp movement in yields and technology stocks. Reuters⁠ * AI infrastructure, semiconductors, software, nuclear energy, and space stocks are showing relative strength. * TEAM and NET are moving after strong earnings, while CEG is higher after beating earnings expectations and raising guidance. * Do not enter before the employment report. Let the first 15-minute candle establish direction, then use the 5-minute and 2-minute charts for confirmation. 📊 VIX Game Plan Current VIX: 15.18 🟢 Under 16 = Buyers In Control 🟡 16–18 = Caution 🔴 Above 18 = Sellers In Control ⸻ 🟢 CALL WATCHLIST NVDA – $219.92 CALLS * Reclaim: $220.50 * Targets: $222.00 → $224.00 → $226.50 PUTS * Lose: $217.75 * Targets: $216.00 → $213.50 → $211.00 Game Plan AI leader. Calls require a clean hold above $220.50 with semiconductor participation. Avoid chasing an opening spike. ⸻ AMD – $495.30 CALLS * Reclaim: $498.00 * Targets: $502.50 → $507.50 → $512.00 PUTS * Lose: $491.50 * Targets: $487.00 → $482.50 → $478.00 Game Plan Watch for continuation with NVDA and QQQ. The better entry is a breakout followed by a successful retest of $498. ⸻ PLTR – $158.24 CALLS * Reclaim: $159.00 * Targets: $161.00 → $163.50 → $166.00 PUTS * Lose: $156.50 * Targets: $154.50 → $152.00 → $149.50 Game Plan Strong momentum, but extended. Let it pull back and hold or establish a higher low before entering calls. ⸻ DDOG – $234.99 CALLS * Reclaim: $236.00 * Targets: $239.00 → $242.50 → $246.00 PUTS * Lose: $231.50 * Targets: $228.00 → $224.50 → $221.00 Game Plan Software momentum candidate. Look for volume and acceptance above $236, not just a quick wick through it. ⸻ CEG – $263.80 CALLS * Reclaim: $265.00 * Targets: $268.00 → $272.00 → $276.00 PUTS * Lose: $260.00

🌎 Market Theme Tonight’s theme is jobs report caution with earnings-driven opportunities. The Dow fell 0.85%, the S&P 500 declined 0.18%, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.06% as traders reduced risk ahead of Friday morning’s July employment report. Oil rallied sharply on renewed concerns involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, making energy one of the few areas showing clear relative strength. The July Employment Situation report arrives Friday at 8:30 AM ET. Payroll growth, unemployment and wages could quickly move Treasury yields, SPY, QQQ and the VIX. After-hours trading is highly selective. Money is rewarding companies that delivered strong growth and guidance while punishing weak forecasts and slowing demand. ⸻ 🥇 Tier 1 Watchlist These are the strongest earnings-driven names heading into Friday. NET — Cloudflare Cloudflare moved sharply higher after raising its annual outlook as demand tied to cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity and AI workloads remained strong. ABNB — Airbnb Airbnb rallied after beating expectations, increasing its full-year forecast and reporting resilient global travel demand. TTD — The Trade Desk Trade Desk dropped sharply after missing expectations and issuing disappointing guidance. This is one of the clearest post-earnings relative-weakness names. CART — Instacart Instacart gained after hours following an encouraging outlook, making it another earnings-driven relative-strength candidate. SG — Sweetgreen Sweetgreen fell sharply after reporting a wider loss and reducing its forecast as demand weakened. ⸻ 🥈 Tier 2 Watchlist These names have meaningful catalysts but may require more patience or confirmation. LYFT Lyft reported stronger-than-expected revenue, gross bookings, rides and active riders. Shares initially gained nearly 7% after hours before settling closer to a modest increase as investors considered slower projected booking growth. RCAT — Red Cat Red Cat reported $20.2 million in quarterly revenue, representing 527% year-over-year growth, while gross margin improved. The company also reported a wider-than-expected loss, keeping this a higher-risk two-sided setup.

🌎 Market Context * S&P 500 and Dow futures are relatively stable, while Nasdaq futures are lower as investors rotate away from semiconductor and high-capex AI companies. * Technology is mixed rather than universally weak. NVDA, META, AMZN and AAPL are showing relative strength, while AMD, GOOGL and several semiconductor names remain under pressure. * SPY is holding near record highs, but QQQ is the weaker index this morning. * Initial jobless claims, productivity and labor-cost data arrive at 8:30 AM ET. Expect levels to shift after the report. * Friday’s employment report remains the larger macro catalyst. * VIX is sitting directly near the TFZ caution line. Do not assume buyers remain in control if it pushes above 16. * Oil, Iran discussions and the Strait of Hormuz remain headline risks. 📊 VIX Game Plan Current VIX: 15.98 🟢 Under 16 = Buyers In Control 🟡 16–18 = Caution 🔴 Above 18 = Sellers In Control A sustained move above 16 would support additional pressure on QQQ and weaker semiconductor stocks. Below 15.75 would favor buyers. ⸻ 🟢 CALL WATCHLIST NVDA – $221.86 CALLS * Reclaim: 222.00 * Targets: 224.00 → 226.50 → 230.00 PUTS * Lose: 218.50 * Targets: 216.00 → 213.50 → 211.00 Game Plan NVDA is showing strong relative strength despite broader semiconductor weakness. Calls require a confirmed hold above 222 with volume. Avoid chasing an opening spike. ⸻ META – $593.06 CALLS * Reclaim: 595.00 * Targets: 600.00 → 605.00 → 610.00 PUTS * Lose: 588.00 * Targets: 583.00 → 578.00 → 572.00 Game Plan META is holding up better than most mega-cap technology names. Above 595 favors continuation, while losing 588 would place yesterday’s strength at risk. ⸻ AMZN – $273.92 CALLS * Reclaim: 275.00 * Targets: 278.00 → 281.00 → 285.00 PUTS * Lose: 271.00 * Targets: 268.00 → 265.00 → 262.00 Game Plan AMZN is showing relative strength and steady premarket accumulation. Look for a 275 break, retest and confirmed hold before entering calls. ⸻ AAPL – $314.08

🌎 Major Market Catalysts - Markets are coming off fresh record highs, but technology and semiconductor stocks are under pressure after mixed reactions to AI-related earnings and guidance. - Investors remain focused on earnings season, with several major companies reporting today, including Airbnb, Cloudflare, Roku, Lyft, DraftKings, Trade Desk, Rocket Companies, and Red Cat. - Friday’s U.S. jobs report is the next major macro catalyst, with traders watching closely for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next move. 💰 Institutional Money Flow - Institutions continue favoring companies showing strong AI monetization and earnings growth rather than AI hype alone. - Capital has rotated out of some semiconductor names after disappointing guidance, while earnings winners continue attracting inflows. - Defensive positioning has increased slightly ahead of Friday’s employment data. 🦾 Strength - AI Infrastructure - Enterprise Software - Industrials - Financials Watching Carefully - Semiconductors - Mega-Cap Technology - Consumer Discretionary 📉 Weakness - Energy (lower oil prices) - Some chip manufacturers following earnings guidance 🟢 Top 5 Call Candidates - NVDA - PLTR - META - AMZN - NET (Cloudflare earnings) 🔴 Top 5 Put Candidates - AMD - AVGO - QQQ - TSLA - SMH 🤖 Technology is losing momentum before the open. Dow futures are slightly positive, while Nasdaq-100 futures are lower as investors rotate away from high-valuation AI and semiconductor names. The pullback follows weakness across Asian technology markets, including sharp declines in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. AI spending concerns remain the market’s biggest pressure point. AMD and SpaceX declined despite strong revenue reports as investors focused on rising capital expenditures, valuation and whether AI investments will produce enough near-term profit and free cash flow. Weekly labor data arrives at 8:30 AM ET. Initial jobless claims and second-quarter productivity and unit-labor-cost data could affect Treasury yields and expectations for Federal Reserve policy. The larger July employment report arrives Friday morning.

🌎 Market Context * SPY and QQQ are holding near record territory after another technology-led rally. * Futures remain constructive, but VIX at 16.65 signals caution, not an automatic risk-on session. * NVDA is showing relative strength following reports that SpaceX plans to prioritize Nvidia chips. * AMD is under heavy post-earnings pressure despite strong revenue and data-center growth. * Major volatility windows today include ADP Employment at 8:15 AM, Services PMI at 9:45 AM and ISM Services at 10:00 AM ET. * Let the first 15-minute candle establish direction. Use the 5-minute and 2-minute charts for confirmation. ⸻ 📊 VIX Game Plan Current VIX: 16.65 🟢 Under 16 = Buyers In Control 🟡 16–18 = Caution 🔴 Above 18 = Sellers In Control VIX is currently in the caution zone. Watch whether it loses 16 or pushes toward 17–18 after the economic reports. ⸻ 🟢 CALL WATCHLIST NVDA – $215.73 CALLS * Reclaim: 216.00 * Targets: 218.00 → 220.00 → 223.00 PUTS * Lose: 213.50 * Targets: 211.50 → 209.00 → 206.50 Game Plan NVDA has the strongest semiconductor catalyst this morning. Holding above 216 with volume could continue the premarket momentum. Avoid chasing an extended opening candle. ⸻ META – $595.40 CALLS * Reclaim: 596.00 * Targets: 600.00 → 605.00 → 610.00 PUTS * Lose: 592.00 * Targets: 588.00 → 584.00 → 580.00 Game Plan META is showing strong relative strength. A confirmed hold above 596 favors a push through the psychological $600 level. ⸻ MSFT – $495.74 CALLS * Reclaim: 496.00 * Targets: 500.00 → 504.00 → 508.00 PUTS * Lose: 492.50 * Targets: 489.00 → 485.00 → 481.00 Game Plan MSFT remains one of the cleaner large-cap technology names. Watch for buyers to defend 495 and reclaim 496 with volume. ⸻ GOOGL – $381.80 CALLS * Reclaim: 382.00 * Targets: 385.00 → 388.00 → 392.00 PUTS * Lose: 379.00 * Targets: 376.00 → 373.00 → 370.00 Game Plan GOOGL is holding constructive premarket momentum. Above 382 favors continuation, but failure beneath 379 could trigger profit-taking.