Latest / The SPY Trader / Inflation Eases, Tech Soars

Transcript

Inflation Eases, Tech Soars · The SPY Trader

• 0:00
  Welcome back to Spy Trader !
• 0:02
  I'm your host , Cash Flow Carl , here to break down the moves that mattered in the market this week .
• 0:08
  It's 5 am on Saturday , December 20th , 2025 , Pacific time , and while the trading floor is quiet , the data is loud .
• 0:18
  This was a week defined by a powerful latesession reversal that erased earlier losses and put risk back on the table .
• 0:26
  The S&P 500 ended the period barely positive , up 0.1% for the week , snapping a foursession losing streak with a strong Friday finish .
• 0:36
  The Dow Jones lagged , down 0.7% , but the clear leader was the Nasdaq Composite , rising 0.5% for the week and soaring 1.3% in the last session alone .
• 0:49
  This rally was fundamentally driven by two key factors : cooling inflation and scorching tech earnings .
• 0:56
  The primary catalyst was the November CPI report .
• 1:00
  Headline CPI fell to 2.7% , and , perhaps more importantly , core CPI eased to 2.6% , its slowest pace since 2021 .
• 1:12
  This inflation surprise was the green light the market was looking for , fueling hopes for future Federal Reserve rate cuts and pushing riskon sentiment through the roof .
• 1:23
  Adding to the dovish outlook , wage growth moderated to 3.5% , a low not seen since 2021 , suggesting the labor market is softening just enough to support easing without signaling a sharp recession .
• 1:36
  Now , let's look at where the money went .
• 1:39
  The market rebound was narrowly focused , centered almost entirely on Technology leadership .
• 1:45
  The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund , XLK , and the techheavy Invesco QQQ Trust were the primary drivers .
• 1:55
  This tech surge was validated by earnings .
• 1:58
  Memory chipmaker Micron Technology saw its shares surge a massive 17% over two days after its earnings report significantly exceeded analyst estimates , reinforcing optimism in the AI hardware cycle .
• 2:12
  This immediately lifted key AIexposed chip stocks like NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices .
• 2:20
  We also saw Oracle rise on news of a joint venture that could give it and other American investors a controlling stake in TikTok’s US operations .
• 2:30
  But the week wasn't universally positive .
• 2:33
  The Consumer Discretionary sector saw specific microlevel risk impact a major component : Nike shares dropped more than 10% after the sneaker giant projected a sales decline , citing economic headwinds in China .
• 2:48
  This highlights that while macro news is positive , companyspecific risks are still very real .
• 2:55
  Our core market thesis remains constructive , with a bias toward riskon assets .
• 3:00
  We are seeing a