Reason: TJX broke out of its stall - RSI jumped to 61.1 (from 47.8) on a +3.71% week, now just -5.41% off its 52-week high; WMT reversed higher again after last read's downgrade; YUM continued stabilizing; COST's summary carries a stale July 24 data stamp, four sessions behind the rest of the basket - its "flat" read is unrefreshed, not confirmed.

Tape Read

$TJX is the surprise this cycle: after being called "the weakest golden-cross name" with a stalled improvement, it broke out — RSI 61.1 (up sharply from 47.8), a +3.71% week (was -0.16%), +6.33% 30D, and now just -5.41% off its 52-week high — the strongest move in the basket. $WMT reversed higher again: RSI 48.8 (up sharply from 38.1), 7D +2.45% (was -4.18%), 30D improved to -1.31% (was -8.01%) — last cycle's downgrade ("the recovery has reversed") itself reversed. $YUM continued stabilizing: RSI 42.6 (up from 39.2), 7D +2.11% (up from +0.68%), still basing regime — the pause flagged last cycle held and extended. $COST needs a flag rather than a read: its RSI (46.5) and 7D print (-0.62%) are numerically identical to last cycle's values, and its summary's data timestamp is dated 2026-07-24 — four trading sessions behind the rest of this basket, which is refreshed through 2026-07-28. This is unrefreshed data, not a confirmed stall; the desk cannot re-rate COST off a stale pull. Source: full-scan pre-computed summaries as of the 2026-07-28 close — retail; $COST's row in that same file carries a 2026-07-24 timestamp — flagged as a missing-data gap, not a fresh read.

• $TJX — PROMOTE (upgraded from WATCH): RSI 61.1 (up sharply from 47.8), +3.71% 7D, -5.41% off 52wk high — broke out of the stall flagged last cycle, the strongest chart in the basket now.
• $WMT — WATCH (upgraded from PASS): RSI 48.8 (up sharply from 38.1), 7D +2.45% (was -4.18%) — last cycle's downgrade reversed again.
• $YUM — WATCH: RSI 42.6 (up from 39.2), regime still basing — the stabilization flagged last cycle continued.
• $COST — missing-data flag, no rating change: RSI 46.5 and 7D -0.62% are identical to last cycle's print, and the summary's own timestamp (2026-07-24) is four sessions stale — needs a fresh pull before any call.

Lead pick: $TJX is this cycle's clean upgrade — a real breakout from the group's prior laggard-on-improvement name, now the tightest to a 52-week high in the basket. $COST is the one flag for the desk, not the market: its data hasn't refreshed since July 24, so last cycle's "bounce already played out" call is still unconfirmed rather than restated.

Sources

• Tape data (price/RSI/SMA/returns): full-scan pre-computed summaries as of the 2026-07-28 close — retail. $COST's row in this same file is stamped 2026-07-24, stale relative to the rest of the basket.