Morning Bears Right on QQQ, But SPY and IWM Staged Intraday Reversals

The opening gap-down hit hard — SPX printed a session low of 7646.59 and QQQ touched 706.67 — but by midday, SPY has clawed back above its VWAP (764.99) and IWM is actually green on the day at 276.65. The tech-led selling thesis played out at the open, but the tape since then tells a different story, with a cluster of aggressive 0DTE SPX call sweeps totaling over $246M in premium hitting at 09:01 suggesting fast-money traders immediately faded the gap.

Right now the market is bifurcated: SPY and IWM are grinding higher in positive trend bias territory while QQQ remains the sick child, sitting well below its VWAP of 711.28 and unable to reclaim its call wall at 720. With VIX compressing back to 18.28 from a session high of 19.25, and NYSE breadth posting a modest 1,533-to-1,149 advance-decline ratio, this isn't a clean risk-on tape — but it isn't a panic either. The afternoon setup hinges on whether SPY can close the gap to its call wall at 770 or rolls back toward the 760 put wall.