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Market Records and the Goldilocks Rally · The SPY Trader

• 0:00
  Good morning everyone and welcome back to the Spy Trader podcast !
• 0:04
  I am your host , Penny Profit , and I am so glad you decided to spend a few minutes of your Saturday morning with me .
• 0:11
  It is exactly 6 am on Saturday , August 8th , 2026 , out here on the Pacific coast .
• 0:19
  We have a lot to talk about today because the market has been on quite a wild ride over the last week .
• 0:26
  If you were watching the tickers , you know it was a week of records , even if the path there felt a little bit like a roller coaster .
• 0:33
  Let's dive right into the heart of the action .
• 0:35
  This past week , the U.S.
• 0:37
  stock market hit new alltime highs as of Friday , August 7th .
• 0:42
  It is one of those classic badnewsisgoodnews situations .
• 0:46
  We saw a massive rally early in the week , a little bit of a breather in the middle , and then a strong finish on Friday .
• 0:53
  The S&P 500 , which many of you track through ETFs like SPY or VOO , gained three point six percent for the week , closing at a record seven thousand seven hundred fiftyseven .
• 1:05
  The Nasdaq , or the QQQ , was the real star , surging five point two percent to close at over twentysix thousand six hundred ninety .
• 1:14
  Even the Dow Jones , represented by DIA , added three percent , briefly crossing that fiftyfour thousand mark .
• 1:21
  So , what exactly is driving this optimism ?
• 1:25
  Well , believe it or not , it was a disappointing jobs report .
• 1:28
  On Friday , we learned that the U.S.
• 1:31
  only added twentythree thousand jobs in July .
• 1:34
  That is a huge miss compared to what experts were expecting .
• 1:37
  Now , normally , fewer jobs sounds like bad news , right ?
• 1:41
  But for the stock market , this signals that the labor market is finally cooling down .
• 1:46
  This makes it much more likely that Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh and the FOMC will pause their interest rate hikes .
• 1:55
  In fact , the odds of a rate hike in September dropped from over fiftyfive percent down to just fortyfour percent .
• 2:01
  Investors are betting that the Fed will take its foot off the gas , and that is like music to Wall Street's ears .
• 2:08
  Looking at specific sectors , technology really led the charge .
• 2:12
  Palantir , ticker symbol PLTR , was the absolute winner of the week , surging nearly thirty percent after they reported a ninetythree percent jump in revenue .
• 2:22
  That is just incredible growth .
• 2:25
  Nvidia also saw a three point four percent gain after announcing a two billion dollar investment in Marvell Technology .
• 2:32
  It seems like the AI boom is far from over .
• 2:35
  We also saw some surprising strength in industrials .
• 2:39
  Caterpillar , or CAT , hit a milestone with its firstever twenty billion dollar revenue quarter .
• 2:45
  Why ?
• 2:46
  Because they are selling power turbines to data centers that need energy for all that AI processing .
• 2:52
  On the flip side , energy stocks struggled a bit .
• 2:56
  Oil prices fell about seven point seven percent this week to around eightythree dollars and fiftyfive cents on hopes of a ceasefire in the Iran conflict .
• 3:06
  We also saw some pressure on consumer favorites like McDonald’s and Nike as investors worry about how much families can afford to spend heading into the fall .
• 3:15
  Now , let’s talk about what this means for your portfolio .
• 3:19
  Based on the data , I have four recommendations for you to consider .
• 3:24
  First , for broad market exposure , look at the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF , ticker VTI , or the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF , IVV .
• 3:36
  Even with the weak jobs data , corporate earnings are growing at their fastest rate since 2021 .
• 3:43
  This creates a Goldilocks scenario where the Fed might stop raising rates while companies are still making great profits .
• 3:50
  Second , if you want to play the AI infrastructure growth , the Invesco QQQ Trust or the Technology Select Sector SPDR , XLK , are great options .
• 4:01
  With companies like Palantir and Microsoft proving that AI is actually making money now , the recent dip in tech looks like a tactical entry point .
• 4:10
  Third , let's look at fixed income .
• 4:12
  If you want to hedge your bets , the iShares 20 plus Year Treasury Bond ETF , or TLT , is worth a look .
• 4:20
  As the labor market cools , bond yields are likely to fall , which usually means bond prices go up .
• 4:27
  This provides a nice safety net if the economy slows down more than expected .
• 4:31
  Finally , for a tactical commodity play , consider SPDR Gold Shares , GLD .
• 4:38
  Gold has built a very strong base recently .
• 4:41
  If the U.S.
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  dollar softens because the Fed is less aggressive , or if those geopolitical tensions in the Middle East flare up again , gold could be set for a major breakout .
• 4:52
  That is it for this morning's update of Spy Trader !
• 4:55
  I hope you have a wonderful , relaxing Saturday .
• 4:58
  Remember to keep an eye on those trends but take some time to enjoy the weekend with your family .
• 5:04
  I will see you back here in a few hours with more updates .
• 5:08
  Happy trading !