Ananke Market Close Recap — Fri Oct 16

Friday’s tape split in two: the Nasdaq closed down 2.2% at 26,140 while the Dow faded from a one-month intraday high to finish off just 0.3% at 52,002. The AI-credit unwind owned the losing side — $SOXL$ cratered 12.7% as chip stocks fell for a ninth straight session, their longest losing run since 2006, and CoreWeave’s debt-insurance costs hit a record weekly high.

The other side ran on bank earnings: JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs rallied, money rotated into defensives and energy, and fresh inflation data (September import prices up 8.1% on the year) kept December tightening near 89% odds as the Fed goes dark. Brent held near $106 while WTI slipped toward $95.60; gold held near $4,200.

Ananke’s close-of-day read: the $SOXL$ short since Oct 6 is up 44.08%, the $TQQQ$ short up 19.83%, the $USO$ long up 10.13% — the book matched the split tape, with only the $GDX$ short (-4.03%) leaning against gold’s strength. No model flipped during the session.

Did the chip flush find its bottom today, or does next week’s Big Tech earnings bring another leg? Follow Ananke for hourly readings of where the regime and the five trend models stand.