Stock markets tumble – Mideast war heats up – Update 07/20/26
Top Ten Good Habits for Investors
Quant Weekly – Up over 59% since June 2025
Quant 30 – Up over 63% since June 2025
Legacy – Up over 340% since April 2023
Education – Top Ten Good Habits for Investors
USA Stock market week ending 07/17/26
S&P 500 (SPY): -1.5% – The broad market pulled back as investors took a more cautious stance, giving back a portion of recent gains.
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA): -1.0% – Blue-chip stocks posted a modest weekly decline, showing relative resilience compared to the broader market.
Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC): -2.9% – Technology and growth stocks led the market lower, making the Nasdaq the weakest of the major indexes.
Russell 2000 (IWM): -0.7% – Small-cap stocks slipped slightly but outperformed the larger-cap benchmarks during the week’s decline.
Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF (SPMO): -6.4% – Momentum stocks experienced significant selling pressure, substantially underperforming the broader market.
Market Drivers this Week (07/20/26 – 07/24/26)
Monday (7/20): June Leading Economic Indicators (10:00 AM ET). Earnings: Halliburton, 3M, General Motors, Danaher, Northrop Grumman, and D.R. Horton.
Tuesday (7/21): Earnings: Philip Morris, Northern Trust, PulteGroup, GE Vernova, Otis Worldwide, and Southwest Airlines.
Wednesday (7/22):Biggest earnings day of the week. Earnings: Alphabet, Tesla, IBM, Texas Instruments, ServiceNow, and AT&T.
Thursday (7/23):Initial Jobless Claims (8:30 AM ET) and the European Central Bank interest rate decision. Earnings: Intel, Union Pacific, Deckers Outdoor, Digital Realty Trust, and Newmont.
Friday (7/24):S&P Global Flash PMIs (9:45 AM ET), New Home Sales (10:00 AM ET), and the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index (11:00 AM ET).
The CNN Fear and Greed Index ends the week at 37 back in the Fear area. After a single week out of the Fear area, the index slid back. Out of the last 7 weeks, it has been in the Fear area for 6 of them.
The Quant Model Portfolios made significant drops this week as the environment for momentum stocks turned ugly. The momentum ETF (SPMO) had a large drop. It is at times like this, after large drops in favorite stocks, that shares can be added to stocks that still have good fundamentals. This usually pays off in the long run.
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Model Portfolio Quant Alpha Weekly
Any newly added stock is being released to Paid Subscribers today. Below are the updates from three weeks ago. This Portfolio continues to significantly outperform its benchmark, 59% versus 21%. It has 27 members.
Top five Quant stocks in the Portfolio (Paid subscribers only).
Add (06/26/26) : SNEX (StoneX Group) – Capital Markets
Outperformers: SEZL (Sezzle) up over +90%, MU (Micron Technology) up over +440%, TTMI (TTM Technologies) up over +110%, CLS (Celestica) up over +50%
Model Portfolio Quant 30
This week’s new update, if any, is being released to the paid subscribers. Shown below is the update made three weeks ago. This Portfolio continues to beat its benchmark by a wide margin, 63% to 21%. It has 30 members in it.
Top five Quant stocks in the Portfolio (Paid subscribers only).
Add (06/26/26): INTC (Intel) Semiconductors
Remove (06/26/26): E (Eni S.p.A.)
Outperformers: MU (Micron Technology) up over +590%, LITE (Lumentum Holdings) up over +200%, TTMI (TTM Technologies) up over +80%, BTSG (BrightSpring Health) up over +210% and SNDK (Sandisk) up over +120%
Model Portfolio Quant Alpha’s – Legacy
The portfolio is up over +340% since it began in 2023. It has 17 stocks in it. Powell industries is now a 12 bagger. Celestica is now a 14 bagger.
Top five Quant stocks in the Portfolio (Paid subscribers only).
Remove (06/26/26): None
Outperformers: AGX (Argan) up over +600%, STRL (Sterling Infrastructure) up over +900%, POWL (Powell Industries) up over +1200% and CLS (Celestica) is up over +1100%
Model Portfolio Quant Top Stock
This new Portfolio adds one new stock a week. A separate email is sent on Thursday morning detailing the selection, a shallow dive on the pros and cons of the stock and the criteria used for the Portfolio.
Add: VSXY (Victoria’s Secret) – Apparel Retail
Performance to 07-17-2026
Top Quant Stocks for this week – (Paid subscribers only feature)
Paid subscribers were presented with a list of the top 10 Healthcare excluding BioTechnology stocks today.
Top Healthcare excluding BioTechnology Stocks were last listed on May 1 2026. Here are the results since then:
5/01/26 thru 7/17/26
Top Healthcare excluding BioTechnology Stocks = Average +21% over 10 selections
XLV (State Street Health Care ETF) = +11%
Top Ten Good Habits for Investors
Invest Consistently
One of the best habits you can develop is investing on a regular schedule instead of waiting for the “perfect” time. Markets will always have ups and downs, but consistent investing helps remove emotion from the process. Dollar-cost averaging allows you to buy through both bull and bear markets. Over time, those steady contributions can grow into significant wealth. Consistency almost always beats timing.
• Think Long Term
Successful investors don’t obsess over what the market did today or this week. They focus on where great businesses may be five or ten years from now. Short-term volatility is simply part of the journey. Time allows earnings and dividends to compound. Investing is a marathon, not a sprint.
• Follow a Written Strategy
Having a clear investment plan makes it easier to avoid emotional decisions. Define your buying and selling rules before you invest. When markets become volatile, your strategy should guide your actions instead of your emotions. Discipline usually outperforms prediction. Great investors trust their process.
• Control Your Emotions
Fear and greed have damaged more portfolios than recessions ever have. Successful investors remain calm when markets become volatile. They avoid panic selling during corrections and excessive optimism during rallies. Rational decisions usually outperform emotional ones. Temperament is one of the greatest investing advantages.
• Review Your Investment Thesis
Every investment should have a reason behind it. Periodically ask yourself whether that reason still exists. Monitor the company’s fundamentals rather than focusing only on the stock price. If the investment thesis changes, be willing to adapt. Patience should never turn into stubbornness.
• Let Winners Run
Many investors sell their best-performing stocks too early. Great businesses often continue creating value for many years. Selling simply because a stock has doubled can interrupt the power of compounding. Give exceptional companies time to execute. Time rewards quality.
• Ignore the Crowd
The crowd is often most optimistic near market tops and most pessimistic near market bottoms. Successful investors think independently and do their own research. They don’t chase headlines or social media trends. Independent thinking often uncovers the best opportunities. Your portfolio should reflect your convictions—not someone else’s excitement.
• Be Patient for Great Opportunities
Not every stock deserves your investment. Great opportunities don’t appear every day, and that’s perfectly normal. Keeping some cash available gives you flexibility when attractive opportunities arise. Waiting can be an investment decision itself. Quality almost always beats quantity.
• Accept That You’ll Be Wrong
Every investor—including Warren Buffett—has made mistakes. The goal isn’t to be right every time; it’s to make sure your winners outweigh your losers. Admit mistakes quickly and learn from them. Humility is an underrated investing skill. Progress matters far more than perfection.
• Trust the Power of Compounding
Compounding is one of the greatest wealth-building forces in investing. Stay invested, reinvest your gains, and avoid unnecessary trading. Time allows your returns to generate additional returns year after year. Most great fortunes were built through decades of patient compounding, not overnight success. Let time become your greatest investment partner.
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For a look at the live scorecard for Position Trader, see the google doc link below.
It has the Live performance numbers and some links back to more information about the three Quant stock Model Portfolio's.
https://live-scorecard.position-trader.com/
A bit of a sell off this past week. Many of those high flyers have dropped a lot. I am going to add some shares in the best ones this week.