Today’s market action has been nothing short of chaotic, with a violent reversal occurring in the midst of a previously positive trend. According to Goldman’s mid-day wrap, the Momentum pair (GSPRHIMO) experienced its best session of the year, but today saw a staggering 12% decline, its worst since 2022. Both legs of the pair contributed to the decline, with Winners down 10% and Losers up 2%. The biggest standouts among the winners include Memory (GSTMTMET -8%) and Rare Earths (GSXGRARE -12%).

The broader market saw relative containment, with an intraday range of just 70 basis points. However, under the hood, activity levels and dispersion remain high, with today tracking 5% ahead of yesterday’s busy session. Breadth remains healthy, with 75% of the index in the green and 16% making a new 52-week high. Key market levels to watch include the SPX 50-day moving average at 6877, the NDX 100-day moving average at 25,194 (which was previously tested/held until today), and the short-term catalyst at 6907 (which has broken). Medium-term levels to keep an eye on include 6701 (which could decline by another ~2.5%).

The pain felt by high-frequency traders (HFTs) is particularly acute, with Goldman’s VIP pair (GSTHVIPP) experiencing a 3-standard deviation move and its worst session in nearly a year. The last time the basket performed this poorly was on March 6, 2025, which was driven by a combination of exhaustive tariff headlines and concerns about AI sustainability (following Baidu’s DeepSeek rival) as well as weaker tech earnings (including MRVL and MDB, each falling 20%).