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Why Momentum, Fed Liquidity & Tech Beats Signal More Upside
Strength Begets Strength
"A body in motion stays in motion." ~ Newton's First Law of Motion
On Wall Street, one of the best predictors of momentum, is past momentum. Thanks to OddStats (@OddStats), we have the data to back up the claim. "(QQQ - Free Report) finished the first 150 days of 2026 with a return of +17.7%. There have been 8 years in history where it was up at least that much at this point." Here's how it did FROM THERE to the end of the year:
+20.8%
+16.5%
-0.6% (2012)
+15.6%
+8.2%
+16.5%
+16.1%
+10.5%
Rate Hike Odds Plunge
"Earnings don't move the overall market; it's the Federal Reserve Board...focus on the central banks, and focus on the movement of liquidity...most people in the market are looking for earnings and conventional measures. It's liquidity that moves markets." ~Stanley Druckenmiller
Until last week's jobs number, Wall Street investors were pricing in a September rate hike amid inflationary concerns stemming from heightened energy prices tied to the U.S.-Iran War. However, payrolls registered an extreme 5-sigma miss on Friday,plunging 23k versus Wall Street estimates of +80k.
As a result, the weak jobs number means that Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is far less likely to hike interest rates. The odds of a September rate hike plunged on online betting markets such as Polymarket.
Post-Earnings Breakouts
Several mega-cap tech stocks beat earnings estimates and are breaking out. For instance, SpaceX trounced Zacks Consensus Estimates by 65.38% in its first earnings report as a public company.
Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet each reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, underscoring the strength of their ongoing multi-billion-dollar CapEX push. In late July, AMZN shares jumped 15% after reporting earnings as trading volume swelled to 150% above the norm. Since then, shares have held the gap and traded sideways. Such robust price and volume action is indicative of institutional accumulation.
Between historical momentum trends, shifting Federal Reserve rate expectations, and earnings beats from market leaders, the current backdrop suggests a higher market.
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: SpaceX, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – August 11, 2026 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights SpaceX (SPCX - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) .
Why Momentum, Fed Liquidity & Tech Beats Signal More Upside
Strength Begets Strength
"A body in motion stays in motion." ~ Newton's First Law of Motion
On Wall Street, one of the best predictors of momentum, is past momentum. Thanks to OddStats (@OddStats), we have the data to back up the claim. "(QQQ - Free Report) finished the first 150 days of 2026 with a return of +17.7%. There have been 8 years in history where it was up at least that much at this point." Here's how it did FROM THERE to the end of the year:
+20.8%
+16.5%
-0.6% (2012)
+15.6%
+8.2%
+16.5%
+16.1%
+10.5%
Rate Hike Odds Plunge
"Earnings don't move the overall market; it's the Federal Reserve Board...focus on the central banks, and focus on the movement of liquidity...most people in the market are looking for earnings and conventional measures. It's liquidity that moves markets." ~Stanley Druckenmiller
Until last week's jobs number, Wall Street investors were pricing in a September rate hike amid inflationary concerns stemming from heightened energy prices tied to the U.S.-Iran War. However, payrolls registered an extreme 5-sigma miss on Friday, plunging 23k versus Wall Street estimates of +80k.
As a result, the weak jobs number means that Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is far less likely to hike interest rates. The odds of a September rate hike plunged on online betting markets such as Polymarket.
Post-Earnings Breakouts
Several mega-cap tech stocks beat earnings estimates and are breaking out. For instance, SpaceX trounced Zacks Consensus Estimates by 65.38% in its first earnings report as a public company.
Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet each reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, underscoring the strength of their ongoing multi-billion-dollar CapEX push. In late July, AMZN shares jumped 15% after reporting earnings as trading volume swelled to 150% above the norm. Since then, shares have held the gap and traded sideways. Such robust price and volume action is indicative of institutional accumulation.
You can read more about Q2 earnings here.
Bottom Line
Between historical momentum trends, shifting Federal Reserve rate expectations, and earnings beats from market leaders, the current backdrop suggests a higher market.
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Get all the details here >>
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
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support@zacks.com
https://www.zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.