Apr 13 – Apr 17, 2026
Wow
Nick SchmidtApril 18, 2026SPY+4.52%QQQ+6.18%
Amazing week. We're back at new all time highs, which isn't something I would have expected three weeks ago. We're extended and we'll pull back for sure, but every V I've traded through, 2019, 2020, last May, just waiting for a pullback to get involved means missing a lot of the move, and by the time the pullback finally comes you would have already built a big cushion from getting in. The higher the market goes without a pullback is just a sign of strength. It might not be sustainable short term, but it's strength, not weakness.
This is the exact reason I force myself to put on exposure on a follow-through day even when I don't believe the rally attempt. If it's not real, fine, take the loss and go back to cash. But if it is real and something like this happens, watching from the sidelines with no positions makes it way easier to bias against the move and stay sidelined hating it. When you actually own something and it starts getting traction, you feel it, and that feeling is what gives you the confidence to size up and keep adding exposure.
Current Holdings
90% invested|10% cash
SymbolAvg CostLastP&L
MU20%
$413.83$454.40+9.80%Avg $413.83Last $454.40
GOOGL15%
$319.95$341.25+6.66%Avg $319.95Last $341.25
AMAT15%
$386.47$393.17+1.73%Avg $386.47Last $393.17
TER15%
$348.48$381.40+9.45%Avg $348.48Last $381.40
CRWV15%
$105.12$116.95+11.26%Avg $105.12Last $116.95
TSLA10%
$394.56$401.00+1.63%Avg $394.56Last $401.00
NFLX stopped out on earnings.
Day by Day
Monday
2026-04-13Felt like last May from the open and you could feel the strength right away. Even though they were uncomfortable buys I was able to manage risk easily. The names I'd been wanting got instant traction. A lot of the action and volume feels like funds repricing AI spend.
- CRWV, NBIS strongest out of the gate, acting like true market leaders
- BE, CLS, LUNR all breaking out of their ranges
- TER super tight right near highs, not participating but that's not weakness
BoughtCRWV (~15%, in last week's wick), MU (~20% as semis started to participate), GOOGL (~15%, also in the wick)
Real-time posts from this day (7)
Tuesday
2026-04-14For months strength was sold into and breakouts wouldn't stick and today that completely flipped. Every name I bought Monday built cushion. Space stocks were weak but the weekly charts are still intact, and that group is hard to buy on strength so these are the better days to try to position.
- MU picture perfect weekly, shakeout candle 2 weeks ago made it a focus
- CLS follow-through so far
Real-time posts from this day (4)
Wednesday
2026-04-15TSLA volume got massive late day and I took a small size even though the chart was extended and I'm a weakness buyer by default. The character of the big names right now has been a major volume push followed by more follow-through the next week, GOOGL, AMZN, and CRWV all did it, and TSLA was setting up the same way. The environment has been pure follow-through so taking the extended entry was consistent with what the market has been rewarding.
- TSLA back on focus
- SATS sitting tight after a recent breakout
- AMAT and TER still near highs, digesting their big moves
BoughtTSLA
Thursday
2026-04-16First pressure I felt on my positions. Semis were weak but more growth groups were participating today, space and opticals, ones that weren't earlier in the week. Looked more like healthy rest than anything broken, just more growth participating.
- MU stands out early, first red to green
- NBIS holding up much stronger than IREN under pressure, reinforces it as the data center leader
Friday
2026-04-17NFLX gapped down on earnings and I took a small loss. Everything else had another strong day and even the stuff fading most near lows was still near the top of the weekly range.
- Weekly candles on AMD, TSLA, CLS look like trend starters
BoughtTSLA (Small add on volume, new avg ~$394)
SoldNFLX (Stopped at 96.20 on earnings gap, small loss)
Lessons
01
Environment over setup, in a strong market too
I usually bring this up in a bad market where even the best setup can fail. This week was the reminder it works the other way too. I took entries I know wouldn't have worked in a weaker environment and every one of them got traction because the market was doing the work.
02
The rallies nobody trusts are the strongest
We've had these V recoveries a few times now, 2019 right before Covid and then 2020 with Covid, and every one has the exact same characteristics. The market always bottoms while the news is still bad, the rally runs straight up without giving anyone a clean entry, and nobody trusts it. This one was the fastest yet but the pattern is identical every time, which is why the rallies nobody trusts end up being the strongest.
03
Entry tactics have to match the environment
I'm a weakness buyer by default, but if I wait for pullbacks in an environment like this I never get in. The only way in has been strength, same as last April and May. June through September strength still worked but weakness became the better trade, October through December it was only weakness, January and February everything failed. Now we're back to strength. The same setup can fail or work depending on the environment, so my entries have to be flexible with it.
04
Forcing small exposure on a follow-through day
Even on a follow-through day I don't trust, I force myself to put on a small position. Watching with no exposure it's too easy to freeze and end up hating the rally from the sidelines. Feeling the move in a real position is how I stay objective and know when to add.