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Tech Relief and the Nvidia Countdown · The SPY Trader

• 0:00
  Hello everyone and a very warm welcome back to Spy Trader !
• 0:04
  I am your host , Sunny Sideup , and I am absolutely delighted to have you with us for this midafternoon market breakdown .
• 0:11
  It is currently 2:30 pm on Tuesday , August 25th , 2026 , here on the beautiful Pacific coast .
• 0:20
  We have a lot of fascinating data to sort through today as we navigate a week filled with highstakes tech anticipation and some interesting shifts in the energy sector .
• 0:30
  Let's start with a look at how the major indexes are performing .
• 0:34
  Today was a day for the bulls to smile , as the markets were buoyed by falling oil prices and a nice relief rally in the tech space .
• 0:42
  The S&P 500 , which many of you track through the SPY ETF , rose 0.3 percent today to close at 7,677.28 .
• 0:53
  We are now hovering just below that alltime high we reached earlier this month , so keep your eyes peeled .
• 1:00
  The Nasdaq Composite , often tracked via the QQQ , had a particularly strong showing , gaining 0.7 percent to finish at 26,151.30 .
• 1:12
  It seems like the selling pressure we felt in tech earlier this week is finally starting to ease up .
• 1:18
  Even the Dow Jones Industrial Average added a solid 160 points , or 0.3 percent , to end its session at 53,577.40 .
• 1:30
  In terms of sector performance , Technology and Financials were the bright spots of the day .
• 1:36
  The Technology Select Sector SPDR , or XLK , is recovering nicely as we head toward some major earnings reports .
• 1:44
  Financials , which you can follow through the XLF , also remained quite resilient despite seeing some money flowing out of the sector recently .
• 1:54
  On the other hand , it was a tougher day for Energy and Industrials .
• 1:59
  The Energy sector , or XLE , was dragged down by a 3.6 percent drop in Brent crude , which landed at 87 dollars and 27 cents per barrel .
• 2:10
  Industrials , represented by the XLI , are facing some headwinds because of escalating tariff tensions between the U.S.
• 2:17
  and Canada , which are specifically hitting the automotive sector right now .
• 2:22
  The big story behind the scenes today was definitely the cooling of oil prices .
• 2:28
  Even though tensions between the U.S.
• 2:30
  and Iran have been ratcheting up , investors seem encouraged by what is being called Operation Economic Outcast .
• 2:37
  This suggests a shift toward economic pressure rather than military escalation , and that helped bring Brent crude down .
• 2:44
  Looking at the bigger picture , July inflation data came in at 3.4 percent .
• 2:50
  This is the second month in a row we have seen inflation slowing down , which is great news , but nobody is celebrating just yet .
• 2:59
  Everyone is laserfocused on the Jackson Hole Symposium this Friday .
• 3:03
  We are all waiting to hear from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to see if he signals a potential interest rate hike for September .
• 3:10
  Over in the bond market , we saw yields come down a bit .
• 3:14
  The 10year Treasury yield is currently at 4.63 percent .
• 3:19
  This happened after the Treasury Department decided to double its buyback cap to 4 billion dollars per operation .
• 3:27
  This is a big deal because it provides a liquidity backstop for longduration bonds , like those you find in the iShares 20 plus Year Treasury Bond ETF , or TLT , and the broader AGG ETF .
• 3:41
  Now , let us talk about some specific companies making waves .
• 3:45
  Tomorrow , August 26th , is arguably the most anticipated day of the quarter because Nvidia is reporting their earnings .
• 3:54
  As the world’s largest company with a massive 5.2 trillion dollar market cap , Nvidia's results are likely to set the direction for the whole AI trade for the rest of 2026 .
• 4:06
  On the retail side of things , we saw a bit of a shock today .
• 4:09
  Dick’s Sporting Goods , ticker DKS , plummeted 27 percent .
• 4:14
  Their earnings report was disappointing and signaled that consumer resilience might be starting to weaken .
• 4:21
  However , it was not all bad news in the market .
• 4:25
  Moderna , or MRNA , jumped 12 percent after some very positive results from a clinical trial for a personalized cancer vaccine .
• 4:33
  And we cannot forget about the crypto world !
• 4:36
  Bitcoin soared above 80,000 dollars today , which gave a huge boost to cryptolinked stocks like Coinbase , ticker COIN , and Robinhood , ticker HOOD .
• 4:46
  So , how should you be positioning your portfolio based on all of this ?
• 4:50
  I have a few recommendations for you to consider .
• 4:53
  For your core equity exposure , I recommend a strategic hold on the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF , VOO , or the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF , VTI .
• 5:06
  With the S&P 500 near record highs and earnings growth projected to stay in the double digits , these are solid foundations .
• 5:14
  VTI is particularly good if you want to make sure you are not too concentrated in just a few giant tech stocks .
• 5:22
  If you are looking for a more tactical tech position , you might look at the Invesco QQQ Trust or the XLK .
• 5:29
  The market is currently pricing in a very strong report from Nvidia .
• 5:33
  If they beat expectations and show strong demand for their Blackwell chips , tech could see a massive breakout .
• 5:40
  However , because tech is sensitive to interest rates , you might want to use a buyondip strategy if the news causes a temporary selloff .
• 5:49
  For those looking for defensive income or an inflation hedge , check out SPDR Gold Shares , or GLD .
• 5:57
  Gold has seen over 3 billion dollars in inflows just last week and is trading near threemonth highs .
• 6:03
  It is a necessary hedge against geopolitical risks .
• 6:07
  I also like the Vanguard Real Estate ETF , or VNQ , for income seekers .
• 6:13
  It has an attractive 3.4 percent average yield and REITs have actually been outperforming the broader market this year .
• 6:21
  Finally , for fixed income , the iShares Core U.S.
• 6:24
  Aggregate Bond ETF , or AGG , is offering a 4.06 percent yield .
• 6:30
  This gives you some real income that we have not seen in the bond market for years .
• 6:35
  With the Treasury stabilizing the market , the downside risk for bonds looks a lot more contained now .
• 6:41
  That wraps up our update for this afternoon !
• 6:44
  I am Sunny Sideup , and this has been Spy Trader .
• 6:49
  Thank you for listening , and I will be back in just a few hours with more news and analysis .
• 6:54
  Have a wonderful rest of your Tuesday !