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Market Relief and the New Fed Era · The SPY Trader

• 0:00
  Hello and a very warm welcome to another edition of Spy Trader !
• 0:04
  I am your host , Sunny Shares , coming to you bright and early .
• 0:08
  It's 6 am on Tuesday , March 24th , 2026 .
• 0:12
  ( Pacific ) .
• 0:13
  I hope you have your coffee ready because we have a lot to unpack in today’s market .
• 0:17
  We are currently navigating what I like to call a relief recovery .
• 0:21
  After a pretty rough start to March where the S&P 500 took a nearly six percent tumble , we saw a nice bounce yesterday .
• 0:30
  On Monday , the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over one percent to finish at fortysix thousand two hundred eight , and the S&P 500 gained one point one five percent to reach six thousand five hundred eightyone .
• 0:43
  The techheavy Nasdaq also joined the party with a one point three eight percent rise .
• 0:48
  This surge happened because we are seeing some signs that tensions in the Middle East might be cooling off .
• 0:54
  However , as we look at the futures this morning , things are trading a bit flat to lower .
• 1:00
  The VIX is still sitting high at twentysix point one five , which tells us that while the immediate panic has calmed down , the market is still very much on edge .
• 1:10
  Looking at the sectors , it is a tale of two markets .
• 1:14
  On one hand , you have Energy and Materials .
• 1:17
  The XLE energy fund has been a standout because oil prices have been quite high , even though they dipped a bit on Monday after news that military strikes might be delayed .
• 1:28
  On the other hand , Technology via the XLK fund is feeling some pressure from high energy costs and valuations .
• 1:35
  But it is not all bad news for tech .
• 1:37
  We just saw an S&P 500 rebalancing that added companies like Vertiv and Lumentum .
• 1:44
  These are key players in the Nvidia AI ecosystem , which shows that big investors still believe in the power of artificial intelligence .
• 1:53
  In the financial world , things are a bit messy .
• 1:57
  While higher interest rates usually help bank margins , we are seeing some red flags in private credit .
• 2:03
  Companies like Apollo Global Management and Blackstone are dealing with redemption caps , which is dragging down asset managers .
• 2:11
  On the macro side , the word of the day is stagflation .
• 2:14
  The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at three point five to three point seven five percent last week , but they raised their inflation forecast to two point seven percent .
• 2:26
  Plus , we saw the first job loss numbers since 2020 .
• 2:30
  There is also a change coming at the top of the Fed , with Kevin Warsh nominated to take over for Jerome Powell this May .
• 2:38
  This could lead to a more unpredictable policy moving forward .
• 2:42
  So , what should we do with our money today ?
• 2:45
  I am recommending a balanced barbell strategy .
• 2:49
  For your core holdings , I suggest sticking with steady broad market funds like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF , ticker VOO , or the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF , ticker IVV .
• 3:02
  These are a bit more resilient right now than the more speculative tech funds .
• 3:07
  If you want to protect yourself against inflation or more global drama , you might want to look at the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund , ticker XLE , or even some gold through the GLD ETF .
• 3:20
  Gold is a classic safe haven if the recent peace talks do not hold up .
• 3:24
  When it comes to bonds , I would stay away from the longterm stuff like TLT for now .
• 3:30
  Instead , look at the iShares Core U.S.
• 3:32
  Aggregate Bond ETF , ticker AGG .
• 3:36
  It offers a safer way to get some yield without as much risk .
• 3:40
  Finally , for a tactical move , I like the big banks like JPMorgan Chase over the private credit firms like Apollo right now .
• 3:49
  The big banks are better positioned to handle these high interest rates .
• 3:53
  We have some interesting earnings to watch today too , including GameStop and KB Home .
• 3:58
  KB Home will give us a good look at how the housing market is handling these high mortgage rates .
• 4:04
  That is all for this morning's update .
• 4:07
  Stay sharp out there , keep your eyes on the charts , and I will be back in a few hours with more insights .
• 4:13
  Happy trading !