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Wall Street’s Record Run: Cooling Inflation and the AI Surge · The SPY Trader

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome to another edition of Spy Trader !
• 0:03
  I am your host , Barnaby Bullseye , and I am so glad you could join me for our midafternoon market checkin .
• 0:10
  It is 2:30 pm on Wednesday , July 15th , 2026 , here in the Pacific time zone , and we are witnessing some truly resilient action on Wall Street today .
• 0:23
  The US stock market is currently rallying toward record highs , fueled by a series of very favorable macroeconomic reports and a fantastic start to the secondquarter earnings season .
• 0:35
  As of right now , the S&P 500 , tracked by our favorite SPY , is up zero point four percent to seven thousand five hundred seventytwo .
• 0:45
  That puts us within a stone's throw — just half a percent — of an alltime high !
• 0:51
  The Nasdaq100 , ticker QQQ , is doing even better with a zero point six percent gain , while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has added zero point three percent .
• 1:03
  The big story today is that inflation is finally cooling down .
• 1:07
  The June Consumer Price Index , or CPI , fell zero point four percent monthovermonth , bringing the annual rate down to three point five percent .
• 1:18
  This was followed by a soft Producer Price Index report showing wholesale prices declined zero point three percent .
• 1:25
  This ' cooler than expected' data is exactly what investors wanted to hear .
• 1:30
  Looking at our sectors , Technology remains the undisputed heavyweight champion , now representing thirtynine percent of the S&P 500 .
• 1:38
  Today , the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund , ticker XLK , was bolstered by easing bond yields and that unstoppable AI momentum .
• 1:50
  Specifically , Nvidia , ticker NVDA , and Micron , ticker MU , saw significant rebounds of four point one percent and four point nine percent respectively .
• 2:00
  Investors are really buying into the ' AI bottleneck ' narrative , where the companies providing the power , cooling , and memory infrastructure are seen as the next major growth plays .
• 2:11
  Over in the Financials sector , ticker XLF , the big banks are stealing the spotlight .
• 2:18
  BlackRock , ticker BLK , led the charge today , surging six point six percent after reporting record assets under management topping six trillion dollars in iShares alone .
• 2:29
  We also saw a nice lift from JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs following their strong profit reports , which is helping offset broader economic concerns .
• 2:39
  It is not all green across the board , though .
• 2:42
  Health Care has been mixed .
• 2:44
  Even though Elevance Health reported an earnings beat , their stock dropped eight point five percent , which shows us just how high the bar is for performance this season .
• 2:54
  We are also keeping a close eye on Energy , ticker XLE .
• 2:58
  Oil prices are swinging near onemonth highs due to escalating tensions between the US and Iran in the Middle East .
• 3:05
  While that helps energy stocks , it does create a bit of an inflationary headwind for the rest of the market .
• 3:12
  In other interesting news , SpaceX shares fell below their recent IPO price for the first time today , signaling a bit of a cooling in the postlisting excitement , even though Elon Musk has officially reached trillionaire status .
• 3:26
  On a brighter note , United Airlines , ticker UAL , reported profits that exceeded expectations and raised their guidance for the year , citing great customer loyalty and the rollout of Starlink internet across their fleet .
• 3:40
  Now , let’s talk about how to trade this environment .
• 3:44
  Our core strategy is the ' Soft Landing ' play .
• 3:48
  With inflation cooling and earnings holding up , we recommend maintaining exposure to the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF , ticker VOO , for your core largecap exposure .
• 4:00
  For those looking for aggressive tech growth , the XLK remains the primary vehicle , especially focusing on memory players like Micron , ticker MU .
• 4:11
  For income and stability , since the Fed — including Chair Kevin Warsh and Governor Lisa Cook — is seeing softening data , we like the iShares Core U.S.
• 4:20
  Aggregate Bond ETF , ticker AGG .
• 4:24
  The three point five percent yield there offers a much safer haven .
• 4:28
  If you want some defensive value to protect against Middle East volatility , consider rotating some gains into stalvarts like CocaCola , ticker KO , or Merck , ticker MRK .
• 4:40
  Finally , for a tactical hedge against geopolitical risks , hold a small position in SPDR Gold Shares , ticker GLD .
• 4:48
  Gold is a classic contrarian trade during Middle East escalations .
• 4:52
  And for a longterm recovery play , the Vanguard Real Estate ETF , ticker VNQ , could really benefit if the Fed moves toward a more dovish stance later this year .
• 5:03
  Thanks for listening to Spy Trader !
• 5:05
  I will be back in a few hours with another update .
• 5:08
  Happy trading !