STOCK MARKET BEARISH -- SHORT -- CAUTION

Keybot the Quant flips to the short side at munchtime today at SPX 6904. The chop suey continues and a whipsaw move occurs. This price action will keep the robot in the single ETF's for another month.

It is a broken record. Utes, banks, volatility and retail stocks are running the show especially banks and volatility today. The bears take the ball back due to weak banks and higher volatility. This game continues with utilities and retail stocks trying to take the field, the marching band refused to yield, do you recall what was revealed, the day the music died? American Pie. Super talent.

The bull/bear lines in the sand are VIX 17.10, XLF 53.97, XRT 87.12 and UTIL 1069. Volatility and banks are creating the stock market negativity. Retail stocks and utes create market lift preventing stocks from collapsing.

The whipsaw threat continues and the bulls may take the ball back tomorrow. It is choppy slop. Focus on VIX 17.10 and XLF 53.97. If volatility falls and banks rise, the bulls are back in business. If either parameter turns bullish, consider the whipsaw back to the long side in play, and if the SPX is above 6993, Keybot the Quant will likely flip long again. If both parameters turn bullish, the quant may flip long around 6973.

The table is set. Watch volatility and banks.

On the last trade that ran for one day, the quant program and the actual trading each lose a percent. For the year thus far, the algo program is down about -4%, the actual trading is down about -3% and the benchmark S&P 500 is up a percent. Keybot the Quant exits QQQ and enters PSQ. The beat goes on.

2/8/26; 7:00 PM EST =
2/3/26; 12:34 PM EST = +8; signal line is +14; go short 6904 (Benchmark SPX for 2026 = +0.9%)(Keybot algo this trade = -1.0%; Keybot algo for 2026 = -3.7%)(Actual results this trade = -1.2%; Actual results for 2026 = -2.8%)
2/3/26; 11:00 AM EST = +8; signal line is +14 but algorithm remains long
2/3/26; 10:17 AM EST = +22; signal line is +15
2/3/26; 9:46 AM EST = +38; signal line is +16
2/3/26; 9:36 AM EST = +22; signal line is +16
2/2/26; 2:43 PM EST = +38; signal line is +16
2/2/26; 10:19 AM EST = +22; signal line is +15; go long 6974 (Benchmark SPX for 2026 = +1.9%)(Keybot algo this trade = -1.9%; Keybot algo for 2026 = -2.7%)(Actual results this trade = -1.7%; Actual results for 2026 = -1.6%)