Pre-market briefing Pre-Market Briefing for July 20, 2026
Today at a Glance
Previous Day Recap
On Friday, all three major New York indices closed lower. The S&P 500 fell 1.01% to 7,457.69, the Nasdaq dropped 1.40% to 25,520.24, and the Dow slipped 0.77% to 52,146.42. Netflix plunged 7.39% and Applied Materials fell 5.57%, dragging down the communications and technology sectors, while energy was the lone gainer at 1.16%, supported by strength in international crude prices. The volatility index jumped 12.19% to 18.77, signaling a sharper rise in risk aversion.
Current Market Mood
U.S. stock index futures opened slightly higher. Nasdaq futures led the way at 0.43%, in an apparent attempt to recover from Friday's steep tech sell-off. However, the gain is too modest to be read as a decisive risk-on move. The U.S. military's airstrikes on Iran are now in their ninth day, and Brent crude has climbed above $90 per barrel — both factors are weighing on sentiment. The biggest variable today is oil. If prices rise further from here, inflation pressure will build and rate expectations could be shaken again.
News Roundup Before the Open
Today's Events
Ex-Dividend
Stocks in Focus
Netflix dropped 7.39% on Friday to close at $68.86. The Relative Strength Index — a momentum indicator that compares recent gains and losses on a scale from 0 to 100 — fell to 30.6, entering oversold territory, and the price broke below the lower Bollinger Band, a band drawn above and below the moving average to visualize the typical price range. With disappointment-driven selling concentrated in a single session, both a technical bounce and further downside are equally plausible.
ExxonMobil rose 0.97% to $147.36, breaking above the upper Bollinger Band. Its RSI at 59.4 has not yet reached overbought territory. However, the upside rests almost entirely on the oil price surge driven by Strait of Hormuz tensions, meaning that if oil cools off, a fast pullback is the natural risk.
Taiwan Semiconductor fell 2.77% to $398.37, slipping below the lower Bollinger Band. An RSI of 39.1 is just shy of oversold. The key question is whether the selling that began in semiconductor equipment stocks on Friday has now spread to the foundry — a foundry manufactures chips designed by other companies — bellwether.
Today's Action Guide
Stay calm out there, and have a good one.
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