The defensive list rose across the board in a week the Nasdaq-100 fell: all 15 names gained over 7D (10 of 15 a week ago), 12 of 15 rose on Friday, and only 3 sit below their 20-day average. Three staples crossed above their 200-day averages and are now extended ($WMT RSI 73.0, $COST 72.5, $XLP 71.9), and the October 9 telecom shock partly reversed ($VZ +7.54% and $T +5.68% over 7D). What has not changed: 10 of 15 names are still below their 200-day averages and 7 of 15 have negative years.

Data as of the 2026-10-16 settled close; 15 tickers, all carrying a 2026-10-16 bar.

Staples led. $XLP gained 5.02% over 7D to RSI 71.9 (54.6 a week ago) on 2.03 times average volume Friday; $WMT ($118.81, RSI 73.0 from 60.9) and $COST ($989.11, RSI 72.5 from 62.4) joined it. All three are now above their 200-day averages ($118.27, $966.12, $84.00) on positive years (+11.59%, +6.86%, +11.36% 1Y), which moves them from under test to intact, but each is more than 5% above its 20-day with RSI above 70, so the first move is a rest, not a breakout. The Nasdaq-100 fund QQQ was -5.52% over 7D in the October 16 market conditions read; $XLU gained 1.93% but remains 4.7% under its 200-day on a -8.14% 1Y.

Telecom recovered part of the October 9 shock. $VZ closed at $44.79 (+7.54% 7D, RSI 43.0 from 21.8), still 3.9% under its 200-day ($46.62) on a +10.98% 1Y; $T closed at $23.44 (+5.68% 7D, RSI 41.7 from 25.9), 6.6% under its 200-day ($25.11) on a -10.53% 1Y, so its trend is still broken. Both remain below their 20-day averages. The October 9 scan tied the prior week's drop to SpaceX's spectrum purchase (CNBC, October 8); the rebound has no cause on file. AT&T is scheduled to report October 21 and Verizon is estimated for October 26.

Retail kept bouncing without repairing. $HD (+6.50% 7D, RSI 60.0 from 41.3), $LOW (+6.12%, RSI 58.4 from 41.9) and $MCD (+3.29%, RSI 52.0 from 36.7) closed above their 20-day averages, yet the 200-day averages ($336.29, $228.78, $285.95) are the long-trend lines and all three years are down (-20.07%, -18.81%, -20.42%). $SBUX is the closest repair: 1.7% under its 200-day ($99.16) on a +15.63% 1Y. $HRL gained 6.31% to RSI 50.8 (25.0 a week ago) but is still 11.1% below its 200-day on a -14.11% 1Y.

The two intact names that lagged are $TGT and $ECL. $TGT closed at $154.26 (-1.51% Friday, 0.8% under its 20-day), 17.2% above its 200-day ($131.63) on a +71.27% 1Y: the one pullback inside an intact trend on the board. $ECL traded 2.79 times average volume on a -0.66% Friday and sits 5.1% above its 200-day.

• Oversold band emptied: no name under RSI 40, from five ($VZ 21.8, $HRL 25.0, $T 25.9, $SBUX 28.8, $MCD 36.7). None is under RSI 25.
• Extended band opened: 3 of 15 at RSI 70 or higher ($WMT, $COST, $XLP), from none; none at RSI 80.
• Breadth: below the 20-day, 3 of 15 ($TGT, $T, $VZ), from 8; below the 200-day, 10 of 15 (13); negative year, 7 of 15 (unchanged); up over 7D, 15 of 15 (10); up on Friday, 12 of 15.
• Long-trend changes: $WMT, $COST and $XLP moved from under test to intact. $TSN stays under test; $VZ and $SBUX stay under test with positive years.
• Universe unchanged: the same 15 tickers as the October 9 edition.

RSI under 30 is oversold, 70 and over extended. For a defensive list the long tests matter most: above the 200-day on a positive year is an intact trend and a low RSI there is a pullback; below it with a negative year is broken. By that test five pass ($TGT, $ECL, $WMT, $COST, $XLP), three are under test ($VZ, $SBUX, $TSN) and seven are broken. The board carries price and RSI only, so a high or low RSI is raw screen evidence, not a recommendation.

Tape figures below are live-bound to the desk summaries; the as-of date is shown per row.

None this week.

None this week.

$T, $VZ, $TGT, $HRL, $MCD, $SBUX, $PPC, $LOW, $HD, $XLU, $ECL, $TSN, $XLP, $COST, $WMT

Of these, RSI 70 or higher: $XLP, $COST, $WMT

Zones are conditions (a level plus a confirmation), not orders. Levels are live-bound to the desk summaries.

• $WMT, $COST and $XLP against their 200-day averages ($118.27, $966.12, $84.00; closes sit 0.5%, 2.4% and 4.3% above): a close back under the line undoes the cross. A rest toward the 20-day ($109.61, $933.74, $82.84) would be the healthy version.
• $VZ and $T: $VZ needs its 200-day ($46.62) and $T needs $25.11 to repair; $VZ's support shelf sits at $40.55 and $T has none identified. AT&T is scheduled to report October 21, Verizon is estimated for October 26, and the October 9 scan cited an FCC vote on October 29 (per CNBC, October 8).
• Retail trio: whether $HD, $LOW and $MCD hold their 20-day averages ($292.51, $187.69, $236.80); the closes remain 7.9% to 15.0% below their 200-day averages.
• $TGT: the 20-day ($155.46) reclaim confirms; the shelf ($128.91) and 200-day ($131.63) keep the one strong year intact.
• $SBUX: the close is 1.7% under the 200-day ($99.16); Starbucks is estimated to report October 29. $ECL is scheduled for October 27, $PPC October 28, and $MCD is estimated for November 4.
• $XLU: 4.7% under its 200-day ($44.31) on a negative year; a rebound that stalls there stays a bounce.

• Tape data: pre-computed desk summary for the defensive universe, as of the 2026-10-16 settled close (defensive).
• Market conditions: 2026-10-16-market-conditions (QQQ 7D). Backdrop: MarketWatch, The SpaceX threat could loom over AT&T's stock for a prolonged stretch (2026-10-13-marketwatch-the-spacex-threat-could-loom-over-at-t-x2019-s-stock-for-a-p--mktw-0005283666). October 9 scan cited CNBC, SpaceX spectrum deal.
• News receipts: stocks<SYM>/news/latest.json` for WMT (fetched 2026-10-15), COST (2026-10-14), XLP (2026-10-08), VZ and T (2026-10-09), SBUX (2026-10-09), HD and LOW (2026-10-03). None covers an October 16 move.
• Event calendar: research/stock-events/ checked for 2026-10-12 to 2026-10-16 (no non-earnings entries for these names); 2026-10-21-t-earnings.md, 2026-10-27-ecl-earnings.md, 2026-10-28-ppc-earnings.md (scheduled), 2026-10-26-vz-earnings.md, 2026-10-29-sbux-earnings.md and 2026-11-04-mcd-earnings.md (estimated).
• Prior scan: 2026-10-09-defensive-scan (structure, universe, and its October 9 readings cited as history).