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.

Want this at 8:30 instead of the next day? Substack (paid, by email) or Alpha Pod (live, with the alerts).

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

EntryWhyTargets
Dip Buy: 7,419Support. 2 points below premarket.7,437, 7,445, 7,454 (8 EMA)
Second Bid: 7,412Support.7,429 (8w EMA), 7,445, 7,454 (8 EMA)
Deep Bid: 7,400Put wall. Dense negative gamma.7,429 (8w EMA), 7,445, 7,454 (8 EMA)
Extreme: 7,385Support. Deep negative gamma.7,400, 7,429 (8w EMA), 7,445
Reclaim: 7,467Through resistance. Extension toward the call wall.7,477, 7,493 (20 SMA), 7,506
Continuation: 7,506Extension.7,550 (call wall)

Short Plan

EntryWhyTargets
Fade pops to: 7,457-7,466Resistance zone.7,447, 7,429 (8w EMA), 7,419
Below 7,400Loss of the put wall. Negative gamma accelerating.7,385, 7,369, 7,360
Breakdown: 7,385Multi-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.