Capventraders

📊 COT + PRICE ACTION — JULY 20, 2026 Two calls last week. Two deliveries 👇
✅ DXY weekly FVG (Jun 8 / Jun 22) → called as support → price respected it → pushed higher
✅ NQ Jul 15/17 FVG → called as resistance → price used it → pushed lower The framework called it. The market delivered. Now here is what comes next 👇

NQ has been in a range for 9 weeks.

Since May 11. Count them. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Two scenarios:
1. Break straight up to 31,509.75
2. Sweep 28,239.50 first, then higher

Honest call: I do not know which level gets hit first.

This is where you observe. Not every week is a trade.

Meanwhile:
ES ▸ Cleanest daily FVG structure of the three
DXY ▸ FVG + volume imbalance confluence. Target 101,977.
EU ▸ Bearish. May drop directly.
GBP ▸ Bearish.
XAU ▸ Neutral.

COT delayed due to July 4. Dashboard updates live at JoelWeeklyEdge.com

Full breakdown

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ICTTrading SmartMoneyConcepts FuturesTrading FairValueGap COTReport JoelPriceAction TradeSafe

The closing price of April and the opening price of May created a monthly volume imbalance on ES.

The jobs report delivered price back into that zone.

Institutions were waiting there with 75,000 contracts.

ES ▸ +51,373 net longs. Target: 8,142
NQ ▸ +23,620 net longs. Target: 31,509
YM ▸ +2,514 delta. Squeeze continues.

The monthly FVG upper at 7,199 was never even needed. The volume imbalance held on first test.

That is one of the highest-conviction structural signals available.

Full breakdown in today’s carousel.

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ICTTrading VolumeImbalance SmartMoneyConcepts FuturesTrading FibonacciExtension JoelPriceAction TradeSafe

The 97 years of data is playing out.

Last week we published the June roadmap:
Week 1-2: mildly bullish
Week 3-4: danger zone

This week: NQ dropped ~5.5% in a single session. 11 days of price action liquidated. The danger zone arrived early.

DXY ▸ BULLISH — COT accumulation, rate cuts evaporating
NQ ▸ BEARISH — targeting May low 27,500
ES ▸ BEARISH — targeting May low 7,199
YM ▸ BEARISH — targeting 49,952
XAU ▸ BEARISH — smart money rotating to DXY

When 97 years of data and COT agree, you listen.

Full breakdown in today’s carousel.

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COTReport ICTTrading SmartMoneyConcepts JuneSeasonality FuturesTrading TradeSafe

Smart money spent 9 weeks building this trap on YM.

Every week since April 13:
↑ Swept the Previous Week High
❌ Rejected immediately
📉 Added more shorts each time

Gross shorts: 24,443 → 42,055
Net short: -18,776 (12-week extreme)
OI: 67,922 → 82,825

This week they closed above PWH for the first time.
Retail saw a breakout. Bought aggressively.
Institutions swept 50,623 and immediately rejected.

At the same time:
❌ NQ failed to close above PWH
❌ ES failed to close above PWH

That is not a breakout. That is a trap.

NQ ▸ INDECISION (31,436 · 29,335 · 28,741)
ES ▸ INDECISION (7,519 · 7,350 · 7,200)
YM ▸ TRAPPED (50,623 · 49,646 · 48,700)

Full 7-pair COT breakdown in today’s carousel.

The trap was 9 weeks in the making.

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$ES completed 7519 thank you for your attention to the matter

Session low on $NQ 29200

Daily vol imbalance and kill zone entry