FLAT SESSION: SPY +0.40% | Range-bound

U.S. equities finished Friday with broad but measured gains, as 8 of 11 sectors advanced while trading remained range-bound. SPY opened at $765.97, reached $767.85, tested $764.17, and closed at $765.62—up 0.40% from the prior close but $0.35 below its opening print. The $3.68 intraday range represented roughly 0.48% of the opening price, consistent with the session’s sideways character.

• SPY: closed near $765.62 today; watch today's session high and low as the immediate technical reference for the next trading day.

Leadership came from Materials, Healthcare, and Consumer Discretionary, supported by strong gains in TSLA, MRK, and selected financial shares. Utilities fell 2.31%, producing a clear rotation away from defensive exposure. QQQ was unchanged on the supplied data, with no closing price available, as weakness in NVDA and AAPL limited the technology complex.

• SPY: closed near $765.62 today; watch today's session high and low as the immediate technical reference for the next trading day. NASDAQ (QQQ): N/A (Close) | +0.00% • IWM: closed near $299.94 today; watch today's session high and low as the immediate technical reference for the next trading day. • VIX: closed near $15.13 today; watch today's session high and low as the immediate technical reference for the next trading day. Volume: Normal (0.81x average)

- Tesla (TSLA): +5.14% to $362.86 — Led the major-stock gainers and reinforced Consumer Discretionary’s 1.13% advance; no verified company-specific catalyst was provided. - Goldman Sachs (GS): +3.74% to $1,039.41 — Strong financial-sector relative strength helped the shares materially outperform SPY’s 0.40% gain. - Morgan Stanley (MS): +3.24% to $214.18 — Advanced alongside GS, indicating concentrated buying interest in large-cap capital-markets stocks. - Oracle (ORCL): +3.11% to $146.49 — Provided selective technology leadership even as QQQ finished unchanged on the supplied performance data. - Merck (MRK): +2.38% to $152.54 — Benefited from strength in Healthcare, which gained 1.29% and ranked as the session’s second-best sector.

- Intel (INTC): -2.24% to $90.07 — Posted the weakest performance among the listed names as semiconductor participation diverged from the broader 8-of-11-sector advance. - Philip Morris (PM): -1.68% to $188.30 — Defensive consumer exposure lagged as investors favored cyclical Materials and Consumer Discretionary shares. - NextEra Energy (NEE): -1.62% to $83.65 — Declined with Utilities, the session’s weakest sector at -2.31%. - NVIDIA (NVDA): -0.98% to $214.72 — Semiconductor weakness weighed on large-cap technology and helped constrain QQQ’s performance to 0.00%. - Apple (AAPL): -0.63% to $309.35 — Mega-cap technology underperformed the broader market, limiting index-level momentum despite positive breadth.

Materials led with a 2.10% gain, followed by Healthcare at 1.29% and Consumer Discretionary at 1.13%, signaling a mix of cyclical risk appetite and selective defensive growth exposure. Utilities’ 2.31% decline, alongside Energy at -0.20% and Real Estate at -0.02%, showed capital rotating away from rate-sensitive defensives rather than indiscriminately lifting the entire market.

Leading Sectors: Materials, Healthcare, Consumer Discretionary Lagging Sectors: Utilities, Energy, Real Estate

- SPY tested support at $764.17, then recovered $1.45 to close at $765.62; the session low is the first downside level to monitor. - SPY resistance was established at $767.85, where upside momentum stalled. A sustained move above that high would mark a breakout from Friday’s $3.68 range. - The $765.97 opening level remains an immediate pivot. SPY’s $765.62 close below the open left buyers without full control despite the 0.40% daily gain. - IWM closed at $299.94, directly beneath the psychological $300 level. Holding above $300 in the next session would reinforce small-cap leadership; rejection would weaken Friday’s 0.76% relative outperformance.

• SPY: closed near $765.62 today; watch today's session high and low as the immediate technical reference for the next trading day.

Broad but low-conviction accumulation, as 8 of 11 sectors advanced and volatility declined, while SPY remained trapped inside a narrow range on 0.81x-average volume.