Stock Market, Bitcoin, Gold Analysis for Week Ending 9/11/26
Brian Shannon reviews a mostly down week in markets (ending 9/11/26) characterized by choppy, sideways action with multiple gaps that made swing trading difficult. Key indices remain stuck at important moving averages with no clear directional bias, while energy and semiconductors show some relative strength, and bonds approach the critical 5% yield level.
Summary
In this weekly market analysis, Brian Shannon from altrends.net reviews the week ending September 11, 2026, which saw mostly downside despite surprisingly limited losses given the gap-down action on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ both remain trapped in choppy sideways trading, stuck at declining 5-day and 20-day moving averages with no clear breakout direction. Shannon characterizes this as "no man's land" and recommends doing very little in the market, a strategy he personally followed and recommended to subscribers. The NASDAQ trades in a defined range between 702-723 with the 50-day moving average starting to flatten, suggesting potential improvement ahead.
The Russell 2000 has continued lower toward the anchor from the original ceasefire level, an important support to watch. Semiconductors show promise for next week as the 50-day moving average replaces data, potentially allowing the sector to establish leadership if it rallies. Specific names like Micron and SanDisk have pulled back toward their 20-day moving averages in orderly fashion, positioning them for potential breakouts next week. Biotechs and the Russell were hurt by higher interest rates and remain below their 50-day moving averages, with no clear evidence that buyers are gaining control yet.
In fixed income, the 10-year yield has surged to 4.97%, knocking on the door of the psychologically important 5% level last tested in October 2023. Shannon argues this is not a magic level that will destroy markets but expects a likely breakout through 5% next week followed by buying into bonds as traders close short positions. Energy names showed modest gains despite oil being up nearly 10%, continuing to display higher lows and higher highs that suggest sustained buyer interest.
For alternative assets, Bitcoin remains correcting in time rather than price within a larger range, offering no low-risk entries. Gold continues ping-ponging between anchors from the year-to-date low and failed rally attempts with no clear direction. The MAGS index appears bullish on weekly charts but individual components show mixed signals: Apple had a good volatile week, Amazon and Google are neutral, Microsoft is in a range despite an uptrend, and Meta shows a dangerous pattern of rallies being sold into quickly. Netflix likely pulls back toward year-to-date lows, and Nvidia grinds higher with consistent higher highs and lows but no real leadership. Tesla sits against prior support at the year-to-date anchor. Overall, Shannon recommends going into the next week with reduced position sizing and greater selectivity due to widespread market indecision.
Key Insights
- The week featured multiple gap-down days followed by sideways action that made entering new swing trades difficult, resulting in chopped-up price action rather than clean trends
- The 50-day moving average functions as a reference point and VWAP-like level to assess whether buyers are gaining control, not an automatic buy signal—evidence from the declining 5-day moving average must confirm buyer strength
- A breakout through the 5% yield level on 10-year bonds is likely to create panic and headlines, but traders positioned for this move will likely take profits on bond shorts and buy bonds, causing an immediate reversal despite the seeming market concern
- Semiconductors have potential to establish leadership next week as the 50-day moving average data refreshes and could flatten out, allowing names like Micron and SanDisk to break above declining moving averages if they rally from their 20-day averages
- Meta shows a dangerous personality pattern where previous similar rallies were consistently sold into sharply right after forming, suggesting it is not the logical place for buyers despite any short-term strength
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] Hey everybody, it's Brian Shannon from altrends.net. Today is Friday the 11th of September and we had mostly a down week for the markets. Uh energy was up a little bit as were uh well uh oil itself was up close to 10% this week. So it's really surprising to a lot of people that uh we weren't down a lot more. So let's take a closer look here on these charts and make some sense of it. As I pointed out on Twitter earlier, you know, this week was uh basically uh a little bit of a gap down on Tuesday, on Wednesday, and on Thursday, and then [0:32] today a gap higher. After those gaps, we saw…
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