Market Update 2:20 PM ET — Bearish Breadth, 2211 Bull Setups Active | September 18, 2026

Market Conditions at 2:20 PM ET

Breadth is ugly at 2:20 PM ET. Only 22% of the 10,219 stocks in the scan are flashing bull setups — 2,211 against 3,028 bear setups. The average SCTR sits at 5.2, which means the typical stock is pinned near the bottom of its intermediate-term range. SPY shows a Confirmed Bull trend with an SCTR of 5 and a bull count of zero. That divergence — trend intact, zero bullish setups underneath — tells you the index is being held up by a handful of names while the broad tape bleeds. Today's bull signals are defensive and inverse: TCGL, RKLZ, GGLS, TZA, BWET. When TZA shows up on a bull list, traders are paying up for downside protection, not chasing risk. On the extended side, STFS, TXG, and DFSC are stretched and vulnerable to mean reversion. With 78% of the scan leaning bearish and average SCTR at 5.2, rallies into the close lack fuel. Expect SPY to fade toward session lows or chop in the lower third of today's range over the next 60–90 minutes. Any bounce should stall quickly — there simply aren't enough bull setups to sustain a push. Watch whether bear setups expand past 3,100; that confirms sellers are still adding into the close rather than covering. If you're trading this tape, focus on the strongest bear setups and manage risk tight into the final hour.