Tuesday, August 18, 2026 – Tony’s Pre-Market Playbook

Pullback — Now Who Takes Control?
by Tony Rago

 

Bulls ran out of juice above 7,800 and could not push through 30,250, so we’ve seen a pullback into 7,726 and 29,750 so far. Overnight inventory is very short, but this is also the kind of dip many buyers have been waiting for rather than chasing higher prices. Could be a directional day today, and the opening range should tell us a lot about which side wants to take the ball. Bulls need to reclaim 30,000 and get back above 7,762/7,777, while bears want to hold this down and push toward 7,688/7,677 and 29,500/29,412.

 

The setup is pretty clean coming into the open: let price show us whether the dip gets bought or the rally gets sold. With short inventory, we could see some movement in either direction, so I don’t want to get too locked into a bias before the opening range develops. Watch the key levels, let the tape prove itself, and then go with it. Let’s see how we open and go from there!

 

👉 Full breakdown is inside today’s Pre-Market Playbook.


Check it out here and trade it smart.


Until next time,
Tony

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