Vishay is a manufacturer of passive components and discrete (one-step) semiconductors, also called active components. Key passive components include capacitors, resistors, and inductors, and key discrete semiconductors include diodes, MOSFETs, and optoelectronics. Significant end markets include mobile devices, network infrastructure, enterprise networks, computing, Industrial, and Automotive. In July 2010, Vishay spun off its strain gauge and measurement business into Vishay Precision Group Inc. (NYSE: VPG).

The major indices were higher at midday Wednesday, likely benefiting from a retreat in oil prices and interest rates. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite is providing the biggest boost as traders anticipate results from Nvidia (NVDA), the world's largest company by market cap, after the close. Meanwhile, retail earnings are pouring in. Investors will be parsing through minutes from the Fed's recent open market committee meeting to be released at 2pm.

Most investors knew a day like Wednesday would come, but no one knew when. Still, the war isn't over, crude oil is still up at $96/barrel, and gasoline prices remain elevated (as are the prices for many other commodities impacted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But any calming in the energy markets is a good thing, especially if it allows investors to focus on the earnings season that is starting next week -- with mostly Financial sector companies reporting. A few semiconductor stocks will also report, including ASML Holding (ASML) and Taiwan Semi (TSM), as will beaten-up Netflix (NFLX), which has been showing some signs of a technical bottoming process. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 (SPX) surged right through its 200-day and jumped to just above its 50-day line. The index also recaptured over 61.8% of the recent decline. Daily momentum (14-day relative strength index, or RSI) broke its downtrend going all the way back to September, while the 21-day rate-of-change (ROC) is close to crossing into positive territory after being in negative territory for much of the past two months. There is a very large price gap (of 155 points), and it would take a pretty nasty headline to get that filled. We have yet to see the type of breadth thrusts usually associated with intermediate-term bottoms -- although for now, this is shaping up like another "V" bottom. The high on Wednesday, at 6,794, was right at the first breakdown point for the SPX. That means there is a block of overhead supply from there to 7,000. Crude oil plunged almost 15% for the day, the largest such move since April 2020. So the price spike may be complete. For now, we see WTI settling down into the $70/$80 range. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

While the technicals remain iffy for the stock market, we are seeing fear and breadth washouts. The equity-only put/call ratio spiked to 0.80 on March 11, hit 0.86 on March 17, and 0.90 on March 18. The five-day equity-only has spiked to 0.76, higher than during the tariff selloff and the highest since August and September 2024. Both those periods were during pullbacks. During periods of market stress, the five-day can spike to between 0.85 and 0.95 and can reach 1.0+ (but that is rare). While high put/call ratios show fear in the options market, and are bullish in the future, the read is not bullish when P/C trends are rising. When the 21-day P/C is in an uptrend, it is bearish for stocks. When option players pivot the other way, the worst of the market decline likely is over. The 21-day bottomed on January 29, right as the S&P 500 was peaking, and has been heading north ever since. While this might not be intuitive, it makes sense: it takes an increase in bullishness to stop the market's decline and to reverse prices. The McClellan Oscillator for the S&P 500 declined to an extreme oversold condition of -95 last week, the most-oversold result since December 2024 and April 2024 -- and more oversold than in April 2025 during the tariff tantrum. The NYSE McClellan Oscillator dropped to -88, the lowest point since April 2025. The oscillator measures breadth using the difference between the 19-day and 39-day exponential moving averages of net advances. On March 18, NYSE advances/issues and up volume/volume both fell to 20%, the weakest result since November 2025. We excluded data from the last day of 2025. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)