Week of Jul 6–Jul 12, 2026
The market spent the week making history quietly, the Dow through 53,000 for the first time on Monday and the S&P drifting to fresh highs by Friday, and this account spent it doing the most professional-looking thing in its record so far: nothing until Friday, then a clean rotation. Both rungs of the August 14 ladder bought back within the hour, +$216.54 and +$129.04, and a new two-lot strangle sold for August 28 at strikes 5800 and 8400. In between, a detail that matters more than its size: Tuesday, JEPI paid its first dividend into the account. $2.32 net. The floor made money while the trades were being held. That’s the whole design.
Closed: Aug 14 5500/8275
+$216.54
1 contract, sold 7.50 Jun 26, closed 3.00 Jul 10. Held 14 days
Closed: Aug 14 5600/8300
+$129.04
1 contract, sold 5.80 Jun 30, closed 3.05 Jul 10. Held 10 days
First JEPI dividend
+$2.32
Paid Jul 7 on 8 shares, before the Jul 8 addition
What actually happened
| Date | Action | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Tue Jul 7 | Income | JEPI monthly distribution, $2.32 net |
| Wed Jul 8 | Opened | 9 shares JEPI at 56.75, the largest floor addition yet (17 shares total) |
| Fri Jul 10 | Closed | Both Aug 14 one-lot strangles. +$216.54 and +$129.04 |
| Fri Jul 10 | Opened | 2x /ESU6 Aug 28 5800P/8400C strangle, 6.80 credit |
| Fri Jul 10 | Opened + closed | 2x SPY 752.5/751 put credit spread, 0.07 credit, closed 0.01. +$7.00 |
The ladder experiment, closing one two-lot early and replacing it with two staggered one-lots, ends this week and gets its own journal entry covering the full arc. Short version: both rungs won, the combined profit beat the typical single two-lot cycle, and the account went back to a two-lot for the next round anyway, at the widest strikes of the record. The Friday fill has a funny footnote in the raw log: the first order for two contracts filled only one before being canceled, and a second order picked up the other at the same price minutes later. One decision, awkward execution, recorded as one trade.
What moved the market this week?
Record highs on revived AI optimism: Dow above 53,000 Monday, S&P at 7,575 by Friday, SK Hynix soaring in the year’s biggest debut. Oil stayed calm post-ceasefire. Against that backdrop the account was a seller of both strangles into strength, and the honest caveat stands as always: the log shows profit-taking during a rally, not whether the rally was the reason.
Anything new tried?
First dividend received, and the JEPI floor jumped from 8 to 17 shares. On the options side, nothing new: this was the established machine running clean.
Takeaway
+$345.58 realized, a first dividend banked, and a fresh strangle on at the market’s all-time highs. On Friday evening this was the best-oiled the account had ever looked. The next weekly entry is the one where the market tests that.
Frequently asked questions
What closed this week?
Both one-lot /ES August 14 strangles, closed within an hour of each other on Friday, July 10: the 5500/8275 for +$216.54 and the 5600/8300 for +$129.04, a combined $345.58 across two weeks of holding.
What is the account's first dividend on record?
JEPI paid its monthly distribution on July 7, 2026: $3.10 gross, $2.32 after the withholding adjustment, on 8 shares held at the time. Small, but it's the first income the floor produced, which is the floor's entire job.
What replaced the closed strangles?
A 2-contract /ES August 28 short strangle at 5800 and 8400, sold July 10 for a 6.80 credit. The fill itself was messy: an order for two lots partially filled one and was canceled, then a second order filled the other, same price, same minute span. One decision, two tickets.