Before you write off this week, look at what's still running

Today's market and our positions

MRK stopped out today, and that's the honest lead. We held it 15 days, watched it grind lower, and the stop finally did exactly what it was designed to do. Meanwhile SPY closed up 0.87% — which stings a little when you're sitting on a loss, but a rising market doesn't guarantee every trade works. That's just how this goes. The scoreboard after 15 days: system at -0.7%, SPY at -1.3% over the same window, alpha of +0.6%. Three closed trades, two wins. The math isn't pretty yet, but it's functional — and it's honest.

What our open trades are doing

EVC is the one bright spot right now. The Relative Strength Engine put us in at $9.05 on Day 1 of that position — we're now sitting at $9.80, up 8.29% while SPY over that same stretch is up just 1.22%. That's +7.07% of alpha in eight days, and the name is still holding well above entry. Nothing to do there but let it run. PIII is the harder conversation. Also a Relative Strength Engine pick, entered on Day 4 at $12.81 — it's now at $10.75. That's -16.08%, against a SPY that's only down 1.07% over the same stretch. The alpha there is -15.01%, and there's no way to dress that up. It hasn't hit our stop yet, but we're watching it closely. Sometimes the engine picks a name that simply doesn't follow through — PIII might be that trade. We're not adding. We're just being straight about what it's doing.

Today's closed trades, post-mortem

MRK post-mortem: the Breakout Engine flagged it, we entered at $121.98. Over 15 days it moved to $112.13 — an 8.07% loss. SPY over the same stretch was down 1.37%, putting the alpha at -6.70%. Exit reason: stop hit. Which is the system doing exactly what it's supposed to do. No override, no wishful thinking, no adding to a loser. The stop was the plan and we followed it. That leaves us at two wins and one loss across three closed trades — a 67% win rate. The MRK loss is real and it cost us, but the stop kept it from becoming a much uglier number.

What could change by tomorrow's open

PIII is the main variable heading into tomorrow. It's already well offside, and if it breaks down further overnight or at the open, we could be looking at another stop getting tagged. Worth knowing before that morning update hits your inbox. EVC looks stable — but eight-day runners can give back gains in a hurry on a gap open if the broader tape shifts against them. SPY had a decent close today, but nothing about the macro feels settled enough to assume that holds. Either open position could get tested tomorrow.

What we're watching tomorrow

The engines run their full overnight scan while we sleep. With MRK off the board, we've got two open positions and room to add if something clean comes through. The real question heading into tomorrow: can EVC keep extending, or does it start to stall? Day 8 is often where the easy money in a momentum name starts getting harder to hold.