Repetitive exercises are normally healthy, but that's different in markets. 

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 If for sure more 'reps' with less 'weight' is appropriate for muscle tone, that's the ticket in markets as well since so much of the 'heavy lifting' was done by just a small number of stocks, and lately there's a slight improvement in 'breadth'. If this cycle of rotation and alternating repetitions stops for awhile, so to does an extended market that is due for correction, especially in the Senior Indexes.

(FINRA Margin Debt data is through June, and market's been rocky since.)

S&P (SPY) is back to bumping-up against an upper trend-line of the rising channel, a pattern that is just an upward 'drift', but is acceptable and warning increased risk too. We're near a sweet-spot challenge with higher inflation expectations, and we may or may not have a 'cresting' (peak) COVID essentially right here at risk of pointing-out how tenuous that would be given schools just starting.

(Obviously the list above will be dominated soon by Afghan refugees, after the colossal airlift magnificently thrown-together by a military not really prepared. Nobody but the United States could do it on such short notice, sort of a giant version of the 'Raid on Entebbe', where the only fatality was Netanyahu's brother. The Israelis later did an even larger evacuation of Ethiopian Jews on El Al 747's, and that was the world's record for most on an airplane.. 1000+. I am really concerned about Islamic terror attacks on Kabul at night this week or of course the basic barbarian tactic of a car bomb driven near the Airport at a time when primarily 'Taliban security' has to get lucky and intercept attacks.)

Underperformance by many stocks, but few really in trouble, is also reflective of rising complacency, while technicians are frustrated at lack of breakouts or breakdowns. That's actually fine, and for this time of year really valued. But its ability to hang-onto strength into the September-October period is dubious.

Executive summary:

• S&P held together pretty well considering Afghan & Fed-head backdrops.

• This remains a stretched market so there is no change in our overall view.

• Vaccines offer imperfect protection, hence need for mAb's, drops & pills.

• As most people willing to be vaccinated already are, the focus should shift a bit to opening monoclonal infusion centers, hence relieving ER stress.

• 'IF' Sorrento's mAb(s) make it through to market, the dose is low enough to facilitate it being injected in any doctor's office or even pharmacy, that alone is a dramatic change from how monoclonal are infused currently.

• Of course don't confused the mAb treatment with Sorrento's vaccine, as it too may be relatively easy to transport, store and inject, if approved.

• And I'd not be totally shocked if Sorrento (SRNE) is accumulating Dyadic (DYAI) shares, because they have more in their portfolio and probably didn't wish to be acquired by Sorrento, but small market-cap makes anything feasible.

• Separately, now note that the Texas A&M scientist who discovered the new (oral pill) candidate, was also first to identify Remdesivir as effective against COVID ARDS way back in January of 2020, so it's a smart team.

• He said Sorrento hopes to complete pre-clinical studies of MPI8 by the end of this year and seek FDA approval to begin clinical trials on humans in early 2022, part of afternoon consolidation relates to sober realization these things take time, but this just might get expedited (pressure FDA!).

• Sorrento may be 'slowrento' (nickname) or very clever, intending to have a number of 'solutions' wrap-up testing phases in this year's 2nd half, and a lot of completions nearly at once, with ideally revenue flowing in 2022.

• It's not merely to dwell on Sorrento, but matters, and is in-play a bit, less so are stocks like LightPath (LPTH), showing signs of life and even AEHR Test Systems (which we said we'd start watching a bit, and will do a bit more).

• AEHR (AEHR) never made much money, but apparently does work for Apple (AAPl) at least indirectly, as well as others, it's an indirect semiconductor and EV circuit-testing play not so overworked to the extent of others, but it can be volatile intraday, if shares drop on their 10-k just in-case they raise money concurrently, that might set-up a buy for aggressive speculators (in the future EV's will demand semi-testing, and they test Lidar systems too, so over time they become markets for what they do, we'll keep an eye on it).

• AEHR is also a speculative takeover candidate with older executives (like in their 50's/60's, which is elderly in tech, but they know how things work), AEHR market cap is low, hence it could be attractive to someone (true for LightPath as well, though I don't have a sense of any upcoming deals, at the same time LPTH is steadily grinding slightly higher without catalysts, but with 'refreshed' / new management level personnel at multiple levels).

• The major 'heavy lifters' are all in rotational play to keep the S&P up, and you know our view on the extended stock market.

• The controversial Afghan withdrawal is dangerous but not impacting the stock market, which is more concerned about the pandemic's duration.

• Tonight the Brits and then the U.S. told 'everyone' to get away from main gates of the airport, based on immediate fear of a terrorist attack, while it is one way to disperse the crowd (by scaring them), sadly it's a real risk.

• Last night's chart of COVID's 'delta of delta' reflects slight optimism, but again I'm concerned particularly with many school kids quarantined and whether they exposed each other or brought it from home, it's tricky and a sad reflection on how this entire pandemic has been handled, and not just by our 'experts', but really the problems with 'delta' are quite global.

• To be candid if you look at states like Mississippi, it's nowhere near over, if you look at Florida it might be peaking, because everyone caught it (!), it's absolutely pathetic, and if you read the warnings on Regeneron (REGN), their Reg-Cov drug widely advocated now works, but if may reduce a patient's resistance to catching COVID 'again', and weaken vaccine protection.

• That is another reason why Sorrento's 2nd generation monoclonals (data can start to flow anytime) purposely are designed differently, by the way one has to feel rising institutional buying sort of knows something (?).,

• Today CDC (first time in awhile) did not give a projection of rising 'COVID cases', but did project rising 'hospitalizations', hence they just might be recognizing 'partial peak COVID' in some states, but realize infections in school kids would continue to result in concerns through September.

• Pfizer's (PFE) CEO (little publicized) happened to mention a 'vaccine resistant' variant(s) is likely to emerge, and acknowledged they are 'just in case' at work on a better vaccine, so now we have a race for 2nd generation vax, and again plenty of market share for any that don't need super-cold care.

• I realize Sorrento is not alone, but they have had time to carefully design their mAb's and vaccine(s) as 2nd generation, covering known variants, combine the 'pill' and they obviously are trying to cover next-gen bases, so they need better Wall St. exposure and public awareness, since seems like FDA/NIH etc. favor big pharmas, unless there's a ruckus, that's why so far the DoD involvement with Sorrento has been and is so important.

(This is not an EV, and Buick -so far- has good relations with the CCP gang.. so it's hard to evaluate problems from GM operations in China, or others too.)

In-sum: 

Little has shifted in this market, or from 'Fedspeak', so we'll leave this Briefing to macro topical mentions. 

The evacuations from Kabul are indeed on-track to be history's largest airlift. If it can be completed without casualties or 'anyone left behind' it will clearly be a miracle, fingers crossed. As to China 'threatening retaliation' on release of a 'COVID Origin Report', that's interesting as it's not public yet. Scuttlebutt does suggests it's 'inconclusive', but China must have a chip on their shoulder now, by hitting us with threats before we've even read it. Beijing's effort to censor a report in Washington? (Ha.) Never say never, but I'd say probably these days it isn't without possibility. They got away doing that to WHO until challenged.

Meanwhile the stock market doesn't fear the Fed's probable taper plan.