Saturday, August 15, 2026

QNTM Week Wrap — Week ending Aug 14, 2026

The QNTM model portfolio returned +3.12% this week versus +0.43% for SPY, a wide margin over a week where the index still notched its third straight weekly gain. The S&P 500 scaled to a fresh record on Thursday, topping 7,800 for the first time, posting an all-time closing high of 7,798.99 , before stocks fell Friday amid deteriorating consumer sentiment .

Drivers: Momentum was led by energy, up nearly 6% week to date, with healthcare and financials also outperforming, up more than 1% each — a backdrop that favored QNTM's cyclical/value tilt. Single-name catalysts consistent with the model's factors included Nu Holdings surging nearly 12% on a record quarterly profit and Reddit jumping 10.4% on its upcoming S&P 500 inclusion , while laggards like Globant sinking 12.6% on a disappointing quarterly report illustrate where quality/sentiment signals diverged.

Macro: Regime stayed "mildly bullish," VIX near 14.25. Cooling inflation data reinforced bets the Fed will hold rates in September , while a disinflation trend from lower tariff costs and oil eventually flowing from the Strait of Hormuz supported both macro tags — tariff easing and war de-escalation — in QNTM's model this week.

Next week: Watch the July FOMC minutes on Wednesday , ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium later in the month.