March 5, 2026

Markets:

S&P 500 futures fell on Thursday as traders caught their breath after a strong performance in the previous session and kept an eye on oil rising prices.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures popped 3% to trade above $76 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude oil futures traded more than 2% higher at more than $83 per barrel.

Stocks rose in Wednesday’s session, buoyed by gains in technology and semiconductor giants. The Dow snapped a three-day losing run. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended the day with solid gains.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a briefing with reporters that the U.S. is “winning decisively” in its conflict with Iran and that more forces are arriving to the region. Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on that Trump’s recently announced 15% global tariff will likely go into effect this week.

Portfolio:

We enter the new session holding setups in SPSC, ONDS, TALK, FCX, and TGB.

The more I step back and look at the bigger picture, the more this setup makes sense. You can feel it building. The S&P has been stuck in a tight range for months now, coiling up.

Then a geopolitical catalyst enters the picture — one that likely has a defined shelf life.

If the conflict resolves sooner rather than later, the path higher opens quickly… and just like that, new all-time highs come back into play.

Technically, both QQQ and SPY continue to behave well. Bears simply haven’t been able to break this market down. When this range finally resolves, the move out of it could be explosive. The longer we stay trapped in this range, the more energy builds for that breakout.

SPY filling one of the bear gaps is constructive. The next target is the remaining gap between 688.62–689.32. Holding above 685 keeps that in play, especially now that we’ve broken above the daily trendline that had been capping price.

Be ready today and stay patient. The opportunity will come.