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Market Moves: Tech Tensions and the New Fed Era · The SPY Trader

• 0:00
  Good morning and welcome to another episode of Spy Trader !
• 0:04
  I am your host , Barnaby Bumblebee , and it is a pleasure to have you with us on this fine morning .
• 0:10
  It is currently five o'clock in the morning on Friday , January 30th , 2026 , here in the Pacific time zone .
• 0:18
  We are seeing some very interesting movements in the markets as we wrap up the week , so let us get you caught up on everything you need to know .
• 0:27
  The S&P 500 , which we follow closely through the SPY ETF , is currently sitting around the sixtynine sixtynine level .
• 0:35
  This comes after it briefly touched the historic seventhousand mark earlier this week .
• 0:41
  While the broader market is feeling a bit of pressure , the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been a bright spot , up pointone percent thanks to strength in industrial and financial companies .
• 0:53
  However , the techheavy Nasdaq100 , or QQQ , took a pointseven percent hit yesterday as the software industry experienced a significant selloff .
• 1:03
  One of the biggest stories right now is the tale of two tech giants .
• 1:07
  Microsoft , ticker MSFT , saw its shares drop ten percent — its worst day in six years — due to concerns over cloud growth in their Azure department .
• 1:19
  On the flip side , Meta , ticker META , saw its shares surge ten percent after beating earnings estimates and sharing an exciting roadmap for their personal superintelligence technology for 2026 .
• 1:31
  Meanwhile , Apple is holding steady on strong iPhone sales , but Tesla is feeling some weight , dropping threeandahalf percent as they face tough global competition .
• 1:41
  In the broader economy , the headline news is the nomination of Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as the Federal Reserve Chair this May .
• 1:51
  Mr.
• 1:51
  Warsh is viewed as being tough on the Fed's balance sheet but potentially more willing to cut interest rates .
• 1:57
  This news has already caused the U.S.
• 1:59
  Dollar to strengthen and the tenyear Treasury yield to rise to about fourpointtwofour percent .
• 2:05
  While the Fed kept rates steady between threeandahalf and threepointsevenfive percent this week , inflation is still sitting at twopointseven percent , and the Atlanta Fed is estimating fourthquarter GDP growth at a strong fourpointtwo percent .
• 2:21
  So , what should you be doing with your portfolio in this environment ?
• 2:24
  First , I suggest looking into international diversification .
• 2:28
  U.S.
• 2:29
  stocks have been a bit slower lately , but emerging markets are showing great promise .
• 2:34
  I recommend looking at the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF , ticker IEMG .
• 2:41
  This fund includes a fifteen percent weight in South Korea , which is benefiting immensely from the boom in AI memory chips from companies like SK Hynix .
• 2:51
  For your fixed income or bond holdings , things are a little volatile with the upcoming change in Fed leadership .
• 2:58
  Rather than longterm bonds , I suggest moving toward the Vanguard ShortTerm Treasury ETF , ticker VGSH .
• 3:06
  These shortterm bonds are much less sensitive to the regime shift we are seeing at the Fed .
• 3:11
  If you are looking for a sector play that offers both growth and a bit of safety , real estate is a surprising winner right now .
• 3:20
  The Vanguard Real Estate ETF , ticker VNQ , has been flashing positive technical signals and currently offers a nice threepointsix percent yield .
• 3:31
  It gives you great exposure to essential data center companies like Equinix .
• 3:36
  Finally , do not forget about gold .
• 3:39
  It hit record highs above fiftyfive hundred dollars an ounce yesterday .
• 3:44
  Even though it pulled back slightly today on the Warsh news , maintaining a position in SPDR Gold Shares , ticker GLD , is a smart move to protect yourself against longterm currency shifts .
• 3:57
  That is your market update for this Friday morning .
• 4:00
  Stay focused , stay positive , and I will be back in a few hours with more insights .
• 4:06
  Happy trading !