Scott Bessent’s Surprise Bond Move Helped, But Moderna Does the Heavy Lifting
The indices held up on one biotech breakthrough while the Nasdaq lost ground.
The indices held up on one biotech breakthrough while the Nasdaq lost ground.
I reduced three biotech winners, and not because I think they are going down.
I just covered my ($QQQ) short at $714.77 for a near +$7 profit in several minutes.
From 9 a.m.:
Yesterday and last night I took my Index shorts down dramatically (from medium-sized to very small-sized).
On the Treasury buyback announcement (done in a relatively illiquid time and starting on Sept. 9), S&P futures are +42 handles and the Nasdaq are +150 handles.
I say the markets will test the Treasury’s moves and I am back shorting the indexes:
* (SPY) $771.43
* (QQQ) $721.50
Positions: Short SPY S QQQ S
BY Doug Kass · Aug 19, 2026, 9:03 AM EDT
Short SPY S
Positions: None.
Yesterday and last night I took my Index shorts down dramatically (from medium-sized to very small-sized).
On the Treasury buyback announcement (done in a relatively illiquid time and starting on Sept. 9), S&P futures are +42 handles and the Nasdaq are +150 handles.
I say the markets will test the Treasury’s moves and I am back shorting the indexes:
* ($SPY) $771.43
* ($QQQ) $721.50
Positions: Short SPY S QQQ S
The negative seasonality I have been anticipating finally kicked in on Tuesday.
With S&P futures -47 handles and Nasdaq futures -330 handles I am covering half of my index shorts (4:10 AM):
* $SPY $768.21
* $QQQ $721.83
I plan to reshort strength.
Position: Short SPY (S), QQQ (S)
The S&P Short Range Oscillator has shifted to a greater overbought, at 3.23% vs 2.73%.
Into the overbought I expanded my short index book (at 3:45 AM):
* $SPY $777.57
* $QQQ $735.09
Position: Short SPY (M), QQQ (S)
It’s not just tech concentration in the S&P 500; your value, dividend and international funds are also betting on AI.
Too many people were positioned for a pullback that has not come.
I have been shorting on a scale higher today:
* ($SPY) $773.14
* ($QQQ) $725.21
Positions: Short SPY (M), QQQ (S)