Morning Note · Tuesday, July 28, 2026
FOMC Starts, Semis Crack
Sent to members at 8:30 AM ET on Jul 28, 2026. Posted here the next trading day.
Key numbers
- 7,421.51
- Premarket
SPX closed 7,413 yesterday and is trading 7,422 premarket — essentially flat. The real story is happening underneath. The semiconductor space is getting hit hard after a WSJ report that Nvidia is in talks to provide a $250 billion financial backstop for OpenAI's data center buildout. Circular vendor financing. South Korea's Kospi dropped over 10%. SK Hynix down 14%. Samsung down 13%. Nikkei fell nearly 4%. Nvidia lost 5% on Monday. Nasdaq futures are down 0.8% this morning while the Dow is up 400 points on Coke and Sherwin-Williams earnings.
The FOMC two-day meeting starts today. Rates at 3.50–3.75%. FactSet consensus expects a hold. CME FedWatch has it at 65.7% unchanged, 28% chance of a 25 bps hike. That 28% is not nothing. The 10-year is at 4.64%. PMIs came in 53–54 — still expanding. Decision tomorrow afternoon.
We're in negative gamma. Premarket at 7,422 is 73 points below the flip at 7,495. The put wall at 7,400 is 22 points below. The 8 EMA at 7,454 and 50-day at 7,471 are both overhead. The 21-week at 7,271 is 150 points below — irrelevant until Friday.
7,400 is the floor that matters today. If it breaks in negative gamma, there's no dense support until much lower. If we hold and grind, the 8 EMA at 7,454 and the flip at 7,495 are the levels above.
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Big Picture Levels
- 7,493
- 20 SMA (daily).
- 7,271
- 21-week EMA. Only Friday's close matters.
- 7,233
- 20-week SMA.
- 7,184
- 100-day SMA.
- 7,009
- 200-day SMA.
Today's Trading
- Primary range
- 7,377 – 7,467
- 7,550
- Call wall. Magnet. Ceiling.
- 7,495
- Gamma flip. The regime line.
- 7,481.01
- Prior demand. Resistance.
- 7,476.82
- Prior demand. Resistance.
- 7,470.36
- 21 EMA (daily).
- 7,465.50
- Ceiling. 13 EMA (daily) area.
- 7,457.31
- 8 EMA (daily) area.
- 7,453.57
- 8 EMA (daily).
- 7,451.25
- 8 EMA (daily) area.
- 7,446.92
- Resistance.
- 7,444.78
- Prior demand. Resistance.
- 7,436.60
- Prior demand. Resistance.
- 7,429.22
- 8-week EMA area.
- 7,425.57
- 8-week EMA area.
- 7,421.51
- Premarket.
- 7,419.43
- Near current price.
- 7,412.42
- Multi-session support.
- 7,400
- Put wall.
- 7,384.88
- Multi-session support.
- 7,376.92
- Floor.
- 7,368.57
- Multi-session support.
- 7,359.93
- Multi-session support.
- 7,355.15
- Support.
- 7,351.68
- Support.
- 7,347.15
- Support.
- 7,341.79
- Multi-session support.
- 7,336.91
- Multi-session support.
- 7,332.50
- Multi-session support.
GEX Profile (July 28, 2026)
- Call Wall
- 7,550. 7,550 — 128 points above premarket. Distant.
- Gamma Flip
- ~7,495. 7,495 — 73 points above. Negative gamma. The 50-day SMA at 7,471 sits just below it.
- Put Wall
- 7,400. 7,400 — 22 points below premarket. Closest anchor.
Call wall, gamma flip, put wall — what they mean and why they run the session.
Execution Levels
Long Plan
| Entry | Why | Targets |
|---|---|---|
| Dip Buy: 7,419 | Support. 2 points below premarket. | 7,437, 7,445, 7,454 (8 EMA) |
| Second Bid: 7,412 | Support. | 7,429 (8w EMA), 7,445, 7,454 (8 EMA) |
| Deep Bid: 7,400 | Put wall. Dense negative gamma. | 7,429 (8w EMA), 7,445, 7,454 (8 EMA) |
| Extreme: 7,385 | Support. Deep negative gamma. | 7,400, 7,429 (8w EMA), 7,445 |
| Reclaim: 7,467 | Through resistance. Extension toward the call wall. | 7,477, 7,493 (20 SMA), 7,506 |
| Continuation: 7,506 | Extension. | 7,550 (call wall) |
Short Plan
| Entry | Why | Targets |
|---|---|---|
| Fade pops to: 7,457-7,466 | Resistance zone. | 7,447, 7,429 (8w EMA), 7,419 |
| Below 7,400 | Loss of the put wall. Negative gamma accelerating. | 7,385, 7,369, 7,360 |
| Breakdown: 7,385 | Multi-session support. | 7,369, 7,360, 7,352 |
How the entry tiers and targets are built: the SPX 0DTE strategy guide.
VIX Levels
- 18.01 key
- 18.40
- 18.48
- 19.27
- 19.35 key
- 19.53
- 19.68
- 19.86
Educational research, not investment advice. Levels and the plan describe how the desk framed that session and are published after it closed.