Whalor Setup Recap: September 22, 2026

Session price action

Today’s resolved names were mixed, and that showed up clearly in the tape. SPY opened at 774.03, traded 772.57-775.14, and finished at 773.54, slightly below the open and below session VWAP at 773.85. QQQ had the strongest relative close of the group: it opened at 740.98, ranged 740.93-748.35, and closed at 747.31, up 0.85% from the open and above VWAP at 745.61. IWM opened at 287.68, traded 286.05-288.94, and closed at 287.21, modestly lower on the day and just below VWAP at 287.31. AMZN opened at 255.11, traded 253.78-259.00, and closed at 255.17, nearly flat from the open but below VWAP at 255.62.

That backdrop fit the day’s split results: 3 resolved setups, 1 profit, 2 losses, for a 33.3% win rate and -$74 modeled one-contract P&L. Month to date, the record remains positive at 48 resolved, 26 profitable, 22 losses, 54.2% win rate, and +$47 modeled P&L.

Why the setups fired

The setups were triggered by specific intraday reactions around short-term levels and moving averages:

• QQQ fired a bullish zero_dte_ema13_bounce near 745.81, based on an ema13_support_reaction / 5m_ema13_bounce / 1m_ema_reaction_high_break.
• AMZN fired a bullish opening_range_breakout_retest near 258.81, based on an opening_range / 5m_retest_or_break / 1m_level_reclaim.
• IWM fired a bearish zero_dte_ema50_rejection near 286.44, based on an ema50_resistance_reaction / 5m_ema50_rejection / 1m_ema_reaction_low_break.

The direction of each trigger lined up with the setup logic, but the later session path was not uniform across the names.

What the outcomes showed

QQQ was the cleanest result of the day. The trade on the $746 CALL closed at +50% with a tracked peak of +92%, and QQQ also finished above VWAP and well above its open.

AMZN did not follow through. The $260 CALL was stopped out at -65%, even though AMZN later traded up to 259.00 before closing close to unchanged.

IWM also failed to convert the trigger into a win. The $286 PUT was stopped out at -65%, while IWM ultimately closed only slightly lower and just under VWAP.

Across the three resolved setups, 0 reached +100% tracked peak.

What traders can learn

Today was a reminder that a valid trigger does not guarantee follow-through. QQQ rewarded a bullish bounce setup and finished with supportive session structure, while AMZN and IWM both showed how quickly a setup can fail even when price continues to move later in the session. The day’s outcomes also reinforce the gap between tracked peak and realized result: the recorded peak on QQQ was strong, but the session still produced only one winner overall.

For Whalor users, the practical takeaway is to judge each setup by both the trigger quality and the actual stock-candle outcome after entry, not by the setup label alone.

Review every setup and its stock-candle outcome replay in the Whalor app.

Month-to-date record

Through September 22, 2026, Whalor has recorded 26 profitable outcomes and 22 losses across 48 resolved setups (54.2% profitable). The one-contract modeled result is +47 dollars under the published methodology below.

Every resolved setup

Contract	Setup	Outcome	Return	Tracked peak
$QQQ $746 CALL · 2026-09-22	zero_dte_ema13_bounce: ema13_support_reaction / 5m_ema13_bounce / 1m_ema_reaction_high_break	PROFIT TAKEN	+50%	+92%
$AMZN $260 CALL · 2026-09-23	opening_range_breakout_retest: opening_range / 5m_retest_or_break / 1m_level_reclaim	STOPPED OUT	-65%	-1%
$IWM $286 PUT · 2026-09-22	zero_dte_ema50_rejection: ema50_resistance_reaction / 5m_ema50_rejection / 1m_ema_reaction_low_break	STOPPED OUT	-65%	+25%

Methodology: Modeled P&L assumes one contract per setup. A setup that reached +50% is counted at +50%; otherwise a setup that reached +30% is counted at +30%; all other resolved outcomes use the recorded exit return. Tracked peak is hindsight context, not an assumed exit. Educational only, not financial advice.